Zags emphatically end Dons’ streak

LAS VEGAS — Rachel Howard swiped a pass near midcourt at the beginning of the fourth quarter, darted into the frontcourt and found Anna Seilund in the corner for a wide-open three-pointer.

As Howard was skipping back on defense, she outstretched her arms and rotated both of her palms to the heavens, like, “Where has this been all day?”

Howard and Seilund, who carried USF during a five-game winning streak, simply didn’t have much left during a 77-46 beatdown by top-seeded Gonzaga in their WCC tournament semifinal game Monday afternoon at Orleans Arena.

Howard and Seilund combined for 46.2 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting in the Dons’ previous five games, but the two guards were limited to 27 points on 21.1 percent threepoint shooting by the Zags.

“I thought we ran into a team that’s ready to make a run in the NCAA Tournament,” USF head coach Molly Goodenbour said. “That was not the same team when we played them on our home court and got a win. They really ratcheted up their intensity level at a good time of year.”

Gonzaga (25-6) advances to the championship, in which it will play third-seeded St. Mary’s (20-11) at 1 p.m. Tuesday. USF (18-13) heads home, waiting to see whether its season-ending run will be good enough for a postseason invite.

The Dons have to hope that the postseason committees don’t see video of Monday’s game. Gonzaga led wire to wire, was up by as many as 41 points and played its subs for most of the fourth quarter.

The Zags shot 51.7 percent from the floor, scored 21 points off turnovers and dominated 40-20 in paint points. They had five players in double-figure scoring: Kiara Kudron led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds, Zykera Rice had 13 points, Jill Barta added 12 points and five rebounds, Laura Stockton put up 11 points and six assists, and Emma Stach had 10 points.

Gonzaga opened the game with a 9-0 run and finished the first quarter with a 9-0 run to go into the second with a 22-4 lead. After missing her first six shots, Howard finally got the board with a layup one minute into the second quarter, but Gonzaga prevented USF from gaining any momentum, reeling off a 19-0 blitz to take a 41-6 lead with 3:15 left in the half.

“Leads can be snapped right in half, and with a team as talented as San Francisco, we couldn’t let up,” Gonzaga senior guard Elle Tinkle said.

Howard completed a threepoint play, knocked down a three-pointer and found Seilund for a three in the half ’s closing 1½ minutes, trimming the Dons’ deficit to 47-17 by halftime. After the Zags went up by 41 points, Howard had five points in an 8-3 run that ended the third quarter and cut Gonzaga’s lead to 68-30.

USF beat Gonzaga 14-9 in the fourth quarter to avoid posting some season lows. The Dons shot 25.7 percent from the floor and 13.3 percent from threepoint range, edging the 24.1 percent field-goal shooting they posted against Washington State on Nov. 18 and the 11.8 percent three-point shooting they posted against Cal on Nov. 25.

“Our shots just weren’t falling, and we weren’t necessarily taking the best shots,” Howard said.