Dec. 8, 1999

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Jessica Malone scored 10 of her game-high 19 points during a late second half run as Gonzaga put away Washington State, 82-66 in non-conference action, Wednesday night.

The Cougars (2-3) trailed 56-46 with just over 11 minutes left in the game before drawing to within three, 58-55 on a three-point basket by senior Jennifer Kerns (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) with 8:14 remaining.

Kerns finished with a team-high 17 points, two shy of her career high, and has tallied 35 points in her last two outings.

After Kerns' trey, the Bulldogs (4-3) went on an 18-2 run over the next 5:47 to put open up a 76-57 lead with 2:27 left in the game.

"I really felt if we could keep it (the deficit) to 7-10 point down the stretch, we would have a chance to win," WSU Head Coach Jenny Przekwas said. "We actually kept it between five and seven points and all of a sudden it got away from us."

The loss was the worst in a non-conference game for the Cougars since Nov. 22, 1996 when they lost to Colorado State, 84-63 in Pullman. It was also the worst non-conference road loss since an 88-68 defeat at Kansas State, Dec. 30, 1994. The win was only the second in 17 tries against the Cougars for the Bulldogs.

The only other Gonzaga win in the series was 71-69, Dec. 10,. 1992.

Gonzaga owned the boards in the game as it outrebounded WSU 51-24, led by Kristin Deal's game-high 13. The Bulldogs had 21 offensive rebounds in the contest.

Sophomore Romie De Anda (El Paso, Tex) and senior Alke Dietel (Halle, Germany) each registered 12 points for Washington State.