Erin Bergman scored 25 and Jessica Malone added 22 as Gonzaga slipped past Illinois State 64-55 in the consolation game of Saturday's 2000 Pacific Bell Classic.
Illinois State, 1-3, dropped its second straight game despite a 20-2 edge on the offensive boards, a 62-36 advantage in field goal attempts, a 26-9 bench scoring lead and eight fewer turnovers than Gonzaga.
Gonzaga, 2-2, won the game at the three-point line (8-13) and the free throw line (22-27) with Bergman and Malone doing most of the damage. Bergman hit 4-5 threes and 7-9 free throws while Malone was 3-5 from beyond the arc and 5-6 at the line.
Malone, who scored 27 on Friday against Tennessee-Chattanooga, scored seven of Gonzaga's first 11 points. Bergman's first three shots were made three-pointers.
"We ran into two offensive-minded players who stepped up big time today," said Illinois State coach Jenny Yopp. "I think we defended them well, however, they were both able to nail some long-range bombs. They obviously play well together and that was the difference between the two teams."
Yopp, with the Missouri Valley's youngest team, saw her charges fall victim to their own inexperience.
"We're coming together, but we're not at the stage where things come easy for us," said Yopp. "Everything's a struggle. But we are getting better every day and games like this one are going to help us down the road in our conference schedule.
Yopp's 'Bench Brigade' trimmed a 28-17 Bulldog advantage heading into the final four minutes of the half to just 32-30 as DJ Flournoy, Taren O'Brien and Stacy White came off the bench to put a 13-4 run together.
During halftime, Bergman and Malone loaded up again. They came out firing as Gonzaga pulled to a 49-40 lead in the opening minutes. Two Sharon Blade buckets and a Nadia Peruch baseline jumper got ISU back within 49-46, but ISU came no closer.
Missing 10 of 19 free throws in the second half didn't help ISU, which was led by Flournoy's 10 points and 7 rebounds. O'Brien added eight points and three steals off the bench.
The Redbirds play Thursday at Western Illinois.
