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Women's Basketball Dispatches Eastern Washington 71-56
Dec. 4, 2008
CHENEY, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team took a 71-56 decision over in-state non-conference opponent Eastern Washington University Thursday evening at Reese Court in Cheney. The Bulldogs improved to 8-1 on the season with the 15-point victory, while the Eagles dropped to 3-4 on the year. It was the tandem of both Tiffanie Shives and Heather Bowman that helped the Bulldogs to a 34-21 halftime advantage. Shives was in a zone, hitting 5-for-8 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from behind the three-point arc, for 14 points. Bowman added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed five boards in the opening half. Gonzaga opened the game strong, holding Eastern Washington scoreless for the first 7:30, which helped it build a 12-0 advantage. The Eagles, who were 0-for-11 in the opening minutes, finally scored at 12:29 when Pauline Ferrall scored a layup. Chene Cooper, a 5-0 guard for Eastern Washington, made things interesting when she was inserted into the contest at the 14:39 mark. Her quick penetration allowed the Eagles to slice into the Bulldogs lead at 14-8 after Tatjana Sparavalo sank two free throws with 9:15 left in the half. Cooper had four points, three assists and one steal in 12 minutes of action. Shives gave the Zags their largest lead of the half at 4:38 when she hit her fourth 3-pointer to put the score at 28-13. The Bulldogs finished the first half hitting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field and was a smoking 57.1 percent (4-for-7) on three-pointers. EWU's Kyla Evans hit three 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the second half to help keep the Eagles in the contest. Evans, who scored nine of Eastern Washington's first 10 points, hit her third long distance shot at 14:42 to put the score at 42-31. The Eagles got the Bulldogs lead under double-digits at the 9:48 mark when Sparavolo hit two free throws to put the score at 49-40.
It was Bowman and Shives, along with Vivian Frieson, who then went to work to put the Eagles away. Shives hit a 3-pointer, followed by layup down low by Bowman, assisted by Shives. Frieson capped the impressive run off, coming from the top of the key to grab an offensive board and scored on the put back to give GU a 63-45 advantage at 5:22. Bowman registered her second-straight double-double and third of the season with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Shives chipped in 19 points and six assists and Frieson added 12 points, six boards and four assists. The Eagles, who did not have any player finish in double-figures in the contest, were led by Evans and Ferrall who both had nine. Gonzaga returns to action when it travels to California to match-up with 2008 NCAA Tournament participant UC Santa Barbara. The Bulldog-Gauchos game is set for Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. |
