No. 18 Gonzaga rallies to beat South Dakota
No. 18 Gonzaga 54, South Dakota 50: Jill Townsend scored 20 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Gonzaga (1-1) rallied to defeat South Dakota (0-2) on Monday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Down 18 in the first half, 12 at halftime and seven entering the fourth quarter, Townsend and Kayleigh Truong combined for the first nine points, giving the Bulldogs a 40-38 lead on a Truong jumper.
The lead reached seven with four minutes to play but the Coyotes cut it to one. Townsend then answered every South Dakota State challenge with a pair of free throws, at 27 seconds, 22 seconds and the clinchers at three seconds.
Gonzaga was 6 of 10 from from the foul line through three quarters after going 5 of 13 in a 79-72 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, made 9 of 10 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs also made 6 of 12 from the field after shooting 25% in the first half. They shot 53% against South Carolina and moved up three spots in the poll after the opening loss. Truong finished with 12 points.
South Dakota, which lost 81-71 to South Carolina on Saturday, was 8 of 16 in the first quarter but 9 of 33 after and only went 3 of 18 from distance.
Liv Korngable led the Coyotes with 20 points and six assists and Hannah Sjerven had 12 points with nine rebounds.
No. 20 DePaul 128, Chicago State 66: Freshman Kendall Holmes hit 6 of 8 3-pointers to score a career-high 23 points off the bench, Lexi Held and Sonya Morris added 21 points apiece and host DePaul (1-1) rolled to a win over Chicago State (0-2).
It was the highest scoring game in program history, surpassing 124 against Savannah State Nov. 26, 2018.
The Blue Demons shot 60% (50 for 83) overall and even better the arc, making 19 of 30 (63%) on 3-pointers. The 19 3s are tied for second in a single game, three behind the record set in the Savannah State game, and the 50 field goals are tied for third.