Ejim’s 21 & 13, Huibens’ career day lift No. 17 Gonzaga women past San Francisco 73-54

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yvonne Ejim scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Maud Huijbens had her first career double-double and No. 17 Gonzaga defeated San Francisco 73-54 on Saturday, the Bulldogs’ 14th-straight win.

Brynna Maxwell was 5-of-8 shooting with four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for Gonzaga (20-2, 7-0 West Coast Conference), which reached 20 wins for the ninth-straight season and 23rd time in school history. Huijbens scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with 11 rebounds and five assists, both career bests for the junior from the Netherlands.

Ava Keita had 14 points for the Dons (8-12, 4-3), who have lost 16-straight in the series. Jasmine Gayles added 13 points and six assists, Deb dos Santos scored 12 and Luana Leite 10.

Gonzaga had a 48-28 rebounding advantage and 16 second-chance points to offset 20 turnovers. The Bulldogs shot 46% (26 of 57) with seven 3s and made 14-of-16 free throws. San Francisco went 3 of 20 on 3s and shot 32% (22 of 69) overall and just 7 of 15 from the foul line.

Ejim had 15 points at halftime and the Bulldogs led 46-29, holding the Dons to 1 of 10 from 3-point range and 23.5% shooting overall.

Maxwell hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring and the Bulldogs never trailed. Ejim closed the first quarter with five-straight points and they led 21-13. She also had the first two baskets of the second quarter and capped a 19-0 run with a layup for a 35-13 lead.

The Zags had eight offensive rebounds at the break, scoring 11 points, and outrebounded the Dons 28-13.

Gonzaga had nine turnovers in the third quarter and was outscored 20-18. Maxwell didn’t miss a shot and scored 11 points for the Zags, who were just 5 of 9. San Francisco was 9 of 20 but couldn’t cut into the deficit more because of 2-of-6 foul shooting.

An 8-0 run late in the game gave Gonzaga a 22-point lead.

Gonzaga plays at San Diego on Thursday.

___ Get alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

380 words

Publish Settings