In an exhilarating game, our Gonzaga Women’s Basketball team rallied past the Pacific Tigers with a 68-64 victory on Thursday afternoon. Guard Yvonne Ejim shone brightly, leading all scorers with 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, coming within just 15 points of breaking the school’s all-time scoring record held by Heather Bowman at 2,165 career points.
During the game, Ejim faced foul trouble early on, picking up her fourth foul with only 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Despite spending most of the fourth quarter on the bench, she returned to the court with fewer than five minutes left and dominated the stretch, showcasing her resilience and determination.
As the head coach of Gonzaga Women’s Basketball, I am incredibly proud of how our team weathered the storm during Ejim’s absence. We always emphasize the importance of teamwork, and today, they demonstrated that perfectly. While Ejim is undoubtedly our leader, we have many other talented players who stepped up and contributed significantly to our victory.
Fans would love to see Ejim break the record at home when we host Washington State next Saturday. However, before that, we have a road game against Saint Mary’s on Thursday, and her teammates would prefer she continues her dominant performance rather than saving the record for a home game.
“Please don’t only score 14 in the next game just to get it here,” freshman guard Allie Turner said with a laugh, reflecting the team’s mindset of focusing on each game and not just the record.
When asked if she would prefer to break the record at home, Ejim smiled and said, “I’ve thought about that in the back of my head. It would be nice to do it at home, but again, we just have to play basketball. I don’t get a say in it. It would be cool to do it in the Kennel, but I just want to do it for Gonzaga. So, I do care, but I don’t really care. I can’t really care.”
We will hit the road to face Saint Mary’s on Thursday before returning home to host Washington State at 2 PM. You can catch the live broadcast of the Gonzaga vs. Washington State game on SWX and stream it on SWXLocalSports.com.
In conclusion, today’s game was a valuable experience for our Gonzaga Women’s Basketball team. We displayed our perseverance and teamwork, and we witnessed Ejim’s potential to make history. We look forward to our upcoming games, and I am confident that our team will continue to strive for excellence and provide our fans with more thrilling matches and unforgettable moments!