Smith leads Gonzaga over No. 8 Stanford 79-73

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Chandler Smith and Gonzaga were ready when No. 8 Stanford turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter.

Smith scored 10 late points to help the Bulldogs hold off the Cardinal for a 79-73 victory on Sunday.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” said Smith, who finished with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting. “They have such a great coach. Luckily it worked out today.”

Katie Campbell and Jill Townsend each had 15 points for Gonzaga (8-1), which won for the second time in 10 games against Stanford. The Bulldogs’ only loss this season was against No. 1 Notre Dame.

“If we play the right way, we can compete with anyone,” Townsend said. “It’s a huge win.”

Gonzaga carried a 58-41 lead into the final period, but Stanford pulled within three on Dijonai Carrington’s three-point play with 4:17 remaining. Smith then responded with two foul shots for the Bulldogs.

“We did tighten up a little bit,” Smith said.

“We wanted to get some defensive stops. My goal was to get to the free-throw line. I knew they were going to foul.”

Carrington’s layup with 37 seconds left trimmed Gonzaga’s lead to 74-71, but Smith hit a jumper and two more free throws to help close it out.

Kiana Williams had 18 points for Stanford (6-1), and Carrington and Alanna Smith finished with 13 apiece.

The Cardinal won each of its first six games by at least 22 points.

“We were just not aggressive,” coach Tara VanDerveer said. “They really got on the glass.”

Stanford was outrebounded 38-24. The Cardinals also shot 44 percent (25 for 57), compared to 54 percent (26 for 48) for the Bulldogs.

“Rebounding, we’ve been talking about that all week,” Townsend said. “Stanford is one of the best in the country. We had to beat them on that.”

AT THE LINE

Gonzaga made 19 of 22 free throws, while Stanford went 14 of 24 at the line.

ALL 3S

Campbell made five 3-pointers. Gonzaga was 8 of 13 from long range.

BIG PICTURE

Stanford: It was a homecoming for Stanford freshman twins Lacie and Lexie Hull, who grew up in the Spokane area. Lexie is hampered by an injured foot and did not play.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs’ only previous win in the series was in 2016 at Stanford. Gonzaga lost to Stanford in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

Stanford hosts No. 4 Baylor on Dec. 15

Gonzaga hosts Washington State next Sunday.