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Gonzaga Drops Portland, 77-42, to Open WCC Tournament Play
March 3, 2005
No. 23 Gonzaga - 77 SANTA CLARA, Calif. - No. 23 Gonzaga (26-2, 14-0) extended its winning streak to 22 games with a 77-42 victory over Portland (6-22, 1-13), in an opening round game in the WCC Women's Basketball Tournament. The Bulldogs turned a four-point halftime lead into a 30-point second half margin. Ashley Burke rebounded from a first half in which she scored only two points to total 16 second half points. The Bulldogs outscored Portland 51-20 in the second half. Gonzaga opened the second half on a 10-5 run, as Burke connected on two buckets. A basket by Raeanna Jewell gave the Bulldogs a 37-26 advantage at the 17:19 mark. Portland stayed in the game on the shooting of Whitney Grant who scored six early points in the second half. The Pilots climbed to within two points of Gonzaga on a three-pointer by Grant in the opening minutes of the half. Portland suffered through a cold spell that saw them go without a basket for five minutes, while Gonzaga built its lead to 51-31. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 24-8 first half lead, but Portland got within five points on a three-pointer by Meagan Bermingham with 2:18 left. The Pilots went on an 11-0 run to get back into the game near the end of the first half. Bermingham and Grant connected on back-to-back treys to move Portland to within 24-19 of Gonzaga. Bermingham hit her second three of the half as time expired on the first 20 minutes of play for a 26-22 Bulldog advantage. Bermingham paced the Pilots in scoring with 10 points at the half, while Gonzaga's Shannon Mathews scored 10 points. The Pilots' Grant totaled seven points in the first half of play. GU shot 32 percent in the first half, while Portland shot 28 percent. Gonzaga committed 10 turnovers during the half. GU's Burke only scored two points. Portland's Grant paced the Pilots in scoring for the game with 16 points, while Mathews had 18 points for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs will advance into tournament semi #1 on Saturday, March 5 at noon and will play the lowest seed remaining.
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