Townsend, No. 18 Gonzaga women rally past South Dakota 54-50

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Jill Townsend scored 20 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, and No. 18 Gonzaga rallied to defeat South Dakota 54-50 on Monday.

Down 18 in the first half, 12 at halftime and seven entering the fourth quarter, Townsend and Kayleigh Truong combined for the first nine points, giving the Bulldogs a 40-38 lead on a Truong jumper.

The lead reached seven with four minutes to play but the Coyotes cut it to one. Townsend then answered every South Dakota State challenge with a pair of free throws, at 27 seconds, 22 seconds and the clinchers at three seconds.

Gonzaga (1-1) was 6 of 10 from from the foul line through three quarters after going 5 of 13 in a 79-72 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, made 9 of 10 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs also made 6 of 12 from the field after shooting 25% in the first half. They shot 53% against South Carolina and moved up three spots in the poll after the opening loss.

Truong finished with 12 points.

South Dakota (0-2), which lost 81-71 to South Carolina on Saturday, was 8 of 16 in the first quarter but 9 of 33 after and only went 3 of 18 from distance.

Liv Korngable led the Coyotes with 20 points and six assists and Hannah Sjerven had 12 points with nine rebounds.

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