Gonzaga got its biggest win in program history with a 96-78 upset against No. 3 Stanford on Sunday, and a sellout home crowd got to witness it. The Bulldogs entered this game unranked and handed the Cardinal their first loss of the season.
Five Bulldogs reached double figures, and Brynna Maxwell led the way with a career-high 27 points and four 3-pointers. Yvonne Ejim added 25 points and 12 rebounds for Gonzaga.
"Honestly, God is good. Our whole team was playing," Maxwell said after the game. "Stanford is a great team. Our coach put together a great game plan for them, and we executed. I think that was the best defense we've had all season. I'm just super proud of [my teammates]. It was just a fun game."
Spokane, Washington is upset City, USA. Gonzaga smacks third ranked Stanford 96-78 in front of a sellout crowd. pic.twitter.com/CptLbKfXW4
— Andrew Quinn (@andrewquinny) December 3, 2023
The first two quarters were close, with the Zags only finding a 45-41 lead at halftime. However, Gonzaga fully took over in the third quarter, outscoring Stanford 32-16. The Cardinal won the fourth quarter, 21-19, but that wasn't nearly enough for a comeback.
Stanford star Cameron Brink was only on the court for 11 minutes because of an apparent illness. To make matters worse for the Cardinal, starting forward Kiki Iriafen found herself in foul trouble. Those players' roles being diminished led to Gonzaga outscoring Stanford in the paint, 44-34.
The Cardinal turned the ball over 16 times, and Gonzaga scored 21 points off those mistakes. The Zags also moved the ball better, finding a 21-15 advantage in assists.
"It means everything. It's so cool that we have a lot of fifth years, a lot of seniors here, and we left our mark here," Maxwell said. "We are not done yet."
Gonzaga (8-2) will next play Cal on Thursday. Stanford (8-1) will get some time to shake off this loss and regroup, as its next game is all the way on Dec. 15 against Portland.
