No. 23 Gonzaga women topple BYU with strong finish 67-58

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Kaylynne Truong scored 24 points, Brynna Maxwell added 13 points, and No. 23 Gonzaga defeated BYU 67-58 in a West Coast Conference opener on Saturday.

The Bulldogs’ starters scored all but nine of their points, but they got clutch baskets from Destiny Burton (5 points) and Calli Stokes (4 points) off the bench.

Gonzaga (10-2) took a 50-47 lead into the fourth quarter and BYU was within one point — 55-54 — with 6:20 to go. Burton hit a layup and Truong a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 60-54 lead and their defense held BYU to two points over the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Earlier, Gonzaga trailed 34-29 in the first minute of the third quarter then tied it at 34 on a three-point play by Truong with 8:41 remaining. A 3-pointer by Truong tied it again at 37 before a jumper from Stokes and a three-point play by Burton put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

Lauren Gustin had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists for BYU which had won three in a row and six of the last nine against Gonzaga. Rose Bubakar added 15 points and Nani Falatea 10 for the Cougars (4-7).

Gonzaga led 18-14 after the first quarter then BYU opened the second period with an 11-2 run and went on to lead 32-29 at halftime.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25