It wasn’t pretty, but Gonzaga grinded out a physical 63-51 victory over Eastern Washington on Sunday to improve to 2-0 on the season. The win is Lisa Fortier’s 100th as Head Coach.
Gonzaga got off to a very slow start and could not buy a basket in the first quarter. They had several open looks, but they just wouldn’t fall. Eastern hit three first quarter triples and held a 12-5 lead after the opening stanza in front of a pro-Gonzaga crowd in Cheney.
In the second quarter, Gonzaga used their defense to create offense. Similar to Wednesday’s opener, the Zags forced several turnovers that led to fast break opportunities and allowed them to take a 27-23 lead into half, despite shooting just 29 percent.