Buzzer beater lifts Bulldogs
Townsend’s jumper gives No. 18 Gonzaga WCC women’s title
Jill Townsend scored on a 15-foot fadeaway jumper as time expired and No. 18 Gonzaga rallied past second-seeded BYU 43-42 on Tuesday in the West Coast Conference championship at Orleans Arena to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Kaylynne Truong inbounded the ball with 0.6 seconds to play, finding Townsend on the left side of the lane. Townsend, one of three starters who did not start because of illness, came off a Jenn Wirth screen and just got the shot off over 6-foot7 Sara Hamson as time expired.
It was the only points of the game for Townsend, who started on the bench with leading 3-pointer shooter Cierra Walker, and third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Leeanne Wirth because of gastroenteritis.
Freshman Yvonne Ejim, playing a season-high 21 minutes, led the Bulldogs with 13 points, nine in the fourth quarter, and nine rebounds — both season highs.
The Bulldogs shot a season-low 28.6% (16 of 56) in their lowest scoring game.
Shaylee Gonzales scored 13 points and Paisley Harding had 12 for the Cougars, who are very much a bubble team. Lauren Gustin had eight points with 13 rebounds.
The Bulldogs were 5 of 29 from the field (17.2%) and had 12 turnovers in the opening half. Wirth, who shared the WCC player of the year with Gonzales, was 1-of-9 shooting and Melody Kempton, the sixth player of the year, moved into the starting lineup and had six turnovers.
Mountain West
■ Fresno State 77, New Mexico 72: At Thomas & Mack, Haley Cavinder finished with 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to the Mountain West championship game. Jaedyn De La Cerda led the Lobos with 23 points.
■ Wyoming 53, Boise State 38: Dagny Davidsdottir had 15 points and four rebounds for the Cowgirls. Quinn Weidemann added 10 points. Alexis Mark scored 12 points to lead the Broncos. Mallory Mcgwire added 11 rebounds.
Big West
■ Cal State Fullerton 55, UC Riverside 51: At Mandalay Bay Event Venter, Joy Krupa led the Titans with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Kathryn Neff added 10 points. Keilanei Cooper led the Highlanders with 19 points. Jordan Webster added 13 points and six steals.
MEN Big West
■ Long Beach State 85, Cal State Northridge 63: Jadon Jones tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead The Beach past the first round at Mandalay Bay Event Center. Chance Hunter added 13 points. TJ Starks had 23 points for the Matadors. Atin Wright added 16 points. ■ Cal Poly 87, Cal State Fullerton 82: Colby Rogers tied his career high with 21 points for the Mustangs. Alimamy Koroma added 18 points. Landis Spivey led the Titans with 17 points off the bench.