x
Breaking News
More () »

No. 20 Gonzaga women use fast start to top Santa Clara 78-61

Brynna Maxwell scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack and Yvonne Ejim had a double-double and No. 20 Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara 78-61 on Saturday.
Credit: AP
Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell (22) drives to the basket against Stanford's Lauren Betts (51) and Brooke Demetre (21) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

SPOKANE, Wash. — Brynna Maxwell scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack and Yvonne Ejim had a double-double and No. 20 Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara 78-61 on Saturday, the Bulldogs' ninth-straight win.

Ejim had 16 points and 12 rebounds, splitting 20 points with Maxwell in the second half to help keep the lead in double figures after a red-hot first half.

Kaylynne Truong scored 15 points with seven assists and McKayla Williams had 13 points with five assists for Gonzaga (16-2, 6-0 West Coast Conference).

Tess Heal scored 14 points for the Broncos (10-8, 1-4) and Oliva Pollerd added 10.

Gonzaga made 7 of 13 3-pointers and shot 55% (17 of 31) to take a 41-28 halftime lead. The Broncos only went 2 of 11 behind the arc and shot 39%.

Truong, who made three of the long shots, opened the game with a 3 and the Bulldogs never trailed. She had back-to-back triples to open a 15-0 run that made it 21-4 and it was 24-10 after one quarter.

Gonzaga shot just 30% in the second half, going 2 of 13 behind arc, but made 15 of 16 free throws. Maxwell, the nation's leader at 98%, was 5 of 5.

Gonzaga plays at Portland on Saturday.

The Bulldogs will retire the jersey of WNBA All-Star Courtney Vandersloot on Feb. 11 when they play Portland again. She will be the first women's player to receive that honor at the school.

Before You Leave, Check This Out