Gonzaga Women Best Saint Mary’s and History Is Made

solid win on the road from the Zags

The Bulldogs took a trip on the road to The Bay as they faced off against St. Mary’s College yesterday in their first matchup of the season that resulted in a 69-58 win against the in-conference rivals that was more than just a victory.

That’s because Yvonne Ejim set the all-time Gonzaga record for points scored as she eclipsed Heather Bowman’s 2165 points set all the way back in the ‘09-10 season. While many may imagine Vonny as a pure post scorer, the basket she made came on a 14-foot jumper, which should highlight the diversity of attacking prowess the Canadian brings to her current team and, likely, professional team in the future.

On the night, Ejim finished with a leading 27 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. That performance, along with great contributions from the likes of Allie Turner’s 13 points and Esther Little’s 10 offensive rebounds, helped propel the Zags to their tenth win a row.

Not only was this a history making moment for the Zag record book and a great player on and off the court, it also marked the anniversary of Lisa Fortier’s breast cancer diagnosis and what I also believe was close to the timing of Bree Salenbien’s third ACL injury. With these types of momentous occasions, it was hard to watch the St. Mary’s announcers almost completely ignore the events outside of the actual match and generally parrot incomplete information at best. Do better Gaels.

Outside of these incredible and almost once-in-a-lifetime events, the game itself was tough to watch at times given the up-and-down performance of the Zags, something I feel like has epitomized this season and almost feels like an overwrought phrase at this stage. However, I think it still stands based on the quarter splits with the first period showcasing the Bulldogs talent as they led 22-5 at the break compared to the second period when they were only up 34-26.

Thankfully, when the going got tough, the players recognized the atmosphere and stepped up to deliver when it mattered. It’s nice to see the Zags win in these types of circumstances, particularly on the road against a tough defensive team like SMC, but it really highlights the inability of this squad to really stamp out games due to the lack of consistency.

That being said, this win should serve quite useful to a Bulldogs team still without Maud Huijbens that is getting ready to face off against Wazzou tomorrow in the Kennel, a match that will be the first ever Kennel Club campout game. While it’s fair to question if something like this should have happened much, much sooner, I hope the students are amped and players ready to ball against their in-state rival.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the Bulldogs-Cougs match that’s slated to tip-off at 2pm PST in the McCarthey Center and will be featured on ESPN+. Also, if you get a chance to go, there is a shirt giveaway sponsored by Northern Quest, which is cool, but gambling is not so please be responsible.