Zag women cruise to exhibition win

SPOKANE — Junior Jenn Wirth scored 17 points and the Gonzaga women’s basketball team cruised to a 105-45 exhibition win over Warner Pacific on Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Wirth was 5 of 8 from the floor and 7 for 7 from the line. She added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Senior Katie Campbell added 16 points, four assists and three steals, while Jill Townsend and LeeAnne Wirth rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jessie Loera dished out a game-high six assists and finished with seven points and five steals.

Melody Kempton, a sophomore from Post Falls High, had nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 17 minutes.

The Zags were 50 percent from the field, and outscored the Knights 54-20 in the paint. On the defensive side, GU forced 28 turnovers and finished with 18 steals. The Bulldogs more than doubled WPU’s rebounds, finishing with a 51-23 advantage on the glass.

Twelve seconds into regulation, Loera found Campbell for the early trey that sparked a 19-0 run to open the game. Warner Pacific’s Gabriella Bruno halted GU’s scoring run with a three of her own at the 6:34 mark of the first period. The Bulldogs led 60-19 at the half.

Bruno led the Knights with a game-high 19 points. Celeste Pantoja added 11 points for Warner Pacific.

Gonzaga opens its regular season schedule against visiting CSU Bakersfield next Sunday at 2 p.m.