KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Gonzaga women close out 2009 with 36-point win

Gonzaga women close out 2009 with 36-point win

SPOKANE, Wash. – For the Gonzaga women, a 36-point victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara was the perfect way to end the year 2009. The Zags beat the Gauchos 88-52 in Gonzaga's final non-conference game of the season.

Gonzaga hit 50.7 percent of their shots from the field, including 45.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line, making 10-of-23 shots. It was the first time they had hit double digits in 3-pointers in 70 games. And they did it all within the first 20 minutes of the game.

Senior Tiffany Shives broke out of her recent shooting slump, going 5-of-7 and tying her single-game career high. She tied junior Courtney Vandersloot for a game-high 17 points.

"I think it was the best game our team has played collectively – all together," said Shives. "We started off really strong, which is fun to see, and our shots are starting to fall."

"It was a good game for us to put it all together as a team," added Vandersloot. "We've had some games where we've had players go off and others not play very well, but this is a game where we kind of had different players play well."

All 15 players for Gonzaga saw playing time against the Gauchos. All but 5 players scored.

UC Santa Barbara was led by Chris Spencer, who scored 11 points.

Gonzaga's next game is Jan. 9 against Portland at the McCarthey Athletic Center.