Nov. 30—The final score won’t show it, but the Gonzaga women’s basketball team played its best in its final game Saturday at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The struggling Bulldogs were victims of their own mistakes and the deeply talented Florida State Seminoles handled the Zags 95-54 in the Paradise Jam.
Unranked Florida State (8-1), which is bound to move into the Top 25 on Monday, turned 25 Gonzaga turnovers into 41 points.
Gonzaga (4-5) had 67 turnovers in three games.
“We competed the best in that game — even though the score might not have ended up looking like it,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “We can’t turn the ball over that many times even if you’re being pressured. You have to take care of the basketball.”
The Seminoles outscored Gonzaga 30-8 in the fourth quarter — 58-20 when combined with the first period. In the middle quarters, the Zags played the Seminoles tightly.
The Zags played as well as they did at any point in the three games during the first half. Problem was — and it’s an unfortunate consistent problem — too many turnovers. The Zags committed 13 turnovers in the first two quarters and the Seminoles turned those mistakes into 23 points.
FSU used a 10-2 spurt to close the first quarter with a 28-12 lead.
The Zags fought back, using Ines Bettencourt’s 3-pointer and Allie Turner’s two 3s to cut the Seminoles’ lead to 34-21 with 7:28 to go in the second quarter.
Yvonne Ejim’s basket off an inbounds pass from Turner pulled Gonzaga within 34-23 a minute later.
FSU took advantage of three straight Gonzaga turnovers, pushing the lead to 43-23 when Ta’Niya Latson made two free throws with 4:35 to go before halftime.
Ejim and Maud Huijbens scored the final two baskets of the half, pulling Gonzaga within 43-28.
FSU entered the game averaging 96.4 points, second best in the nation. Leading the Seminoles has been Latson, the leading scorer in the nation who had a triple-double. She finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Seminoles, who took 18 more shots than the Zags, made 37 of 73 from the field (50.7%) and 12 of 28 3-point attempts.
“We’re running a lot of offense through Allie, Yvonne and Ines and they’re being pressed fullcourt,” Fortier said. “They’re doing a good job. We just have to continue to take better angles and make better decisions. We can’t take any possessions off offensively or defensively.”
Ejim, who was named to the all-tournament team, reached double-digit scoring for a 51st straight game, leading the Zags with 20 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. She also had four rebounds and three assists.
Turner added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.Fortier said she saw some positives.
“I thought Yvonne and Maud (Huijbens) gave us a big boost,” Fortier said. “When they were in together they were looking like they can play off each other. And McKynnlie (Dalan) made big growth this tournament. It was great to see Claire (O’Connor) get on the offensive and defensive rebounding train.”
Gonzaga will spend all day Sunday returning to Spokane. The Zags have a week off before traveling to Colorado State on Dec. 8.
The Zags, who haven’t played at McCarthey Athletic Center since Nov. 21, return home for a final nonconference game Dec. 14 against Eastern Washington.
Drake 79, Washington State 68: The Cougars were overmatched in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Bulldogs at the Puerto Rico Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Bulldogs (3-5) opened the fourth on a 16-7 run to pull away from the Cougars (4-4), who went 2-1 in the tournament.
Tara Wallack led the Cougars with 21 points. Alex Covill (13 points) and Astera Tuhina (11) joined her in double figures.
Abbie Aalsma powered the Bulldogs with 19 points. Kati Dinnebier nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.
