SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 21 points and had 14 rebounds as No. 3 Stanford held off spirited Gonzaga 84-78 on Sunday in a sold-out McCarthey Athletic Center.
Jeanette Pohlen hit consecutive 3-pointers for Stanford (3-0) during a 9-0 run after Gonzaga had tied the score at 68 with 5:23 left. Stanford held the Bulldogs scoreless for three minutes during that deciding stretch, and has held all three of its opponents under 40 percent shooting this season.
Courtney Vandersloot led Gonzaga (1-2) with 24 points. The Zags stayed close much of the game despite poor shooting, and saw their 19-game home winning streak snapped.
Gonzaga shot 35 percent in the game. Bekkering finished with 16 points.
Ogwumike, who did not play against Utah for an unspecified "medical issue" on Friday, started Sunday and had several fingers on her right, shooting, hand wrapped. She made just 8 of 22 shots. Pohlen had 19 for Stanford and Joslyn Tinkle 11.
The Cardinal shot 42 percent.
Gonzaga trailed 56-46 with 15 minutes left. But Vandersloot scored five points during a 9-2 run that cut Stanford's lead to 58-55 with 11:30 left. Bekkering's basket cut the lead 61-59.
Stanford scored five straight when Ogwumike completed a three-point play and her sister Chiney Ogumike had a putback for a 68-61 lead with 7:36 left.
Bekkering and Kayla Standish hit 3-pointers that allowed Gonzaga to tie the game at 68 with 5:23 left.
Stanford scored the next nine points, with Pohlen's consecutive 3-pointers giving Stanford a 77-68 lead with 2:35 left to decide the game.
In the first half, Gonzaga took an 18-14. But a long jumper by Nnemkadi Ogwumike ignited a 16-5 run that gave Stanford a 30-23 lead. Gonzaga lost its shooting touch and was held scoreless for five minutes in that stretch.
Gonzaga pulled within three a couple of times, but a late 13-8 run gave Stanford a 45-37 halftime lead.
The game, featuring the highest ranked women's team to visit Gonzaga, sold out the 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center. The only other women's sellout was a 77-58 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 30, 2008, that featured local product Angie Bjorklund returning to Spokane.
Stanford beat Gonzaga 105-74 last season, behind 30 points by Kayla Pedersen. But the Bulldogs reached the Round of 16 for the first time in their history.