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Spokane, Wash. • Basketball royalty was on hand for the Women's NIT game between Utah and Gonzaga, so it only seemed appropriate when the Utes delivered a royal performance.
Legendary Gonzaga Bulldogs and Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton watched helplessly from his box seat Monday night as the Utes scored at will in a 92-77 romp over Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
"We're peaking at the right time," said Utah wing Paige Crozon, who led all players with 22 points. "We had five players in double figures. That's huge for our offense.
"I think we're moving the ball well, making the extra pass and playing really unselfish basketball."
The Utes (18-14) have topped 90 points in both their WNIT games. They visit Pac-12 Conference rival Oregon (22-10) at 7 p.m. MDT Wednesday in the third round.
"We lost to them twice earlier in the year," Crozon said, "so it'll be nice to get redemption. Hopefully."
The Utes will be tough to handle if they play like they did Monday. Utah shot 46 percent from the field (29 for 63), including 41.7 percent on 3-pointers (10 for 24), and sank 85.7 percent of their free throws (24 for 28).
Gonzaga (19-14) shot just 34.3 percent from the floor and gave up a season high for points allowed. The Bulldogs were leading the West Coast Conference in scoring defense with 57.6 points allowed per game.
"They're a tough guard," Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said, "and we really couldn't stop them defensively."
Crozon sank 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range. Former Springville High School star Malia Nawahine nailed 3 of 7 treys. She scored 12 of her 17 points in the first half before an enthusiastic crowd estimated at 3,000.
"She is a really, really tough player," Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. "It's hard to take her off the floor.
"She played 40 minutes. I don't like to play my players that much, especially in these (difficult) environments."
Coach, Nawahine wants you to know that she's all for extended playing time.
"I like playing 40 minutes," Nawahine said. "I wish she'd always leave me out there."
Stockton's daughter, Gonzaga freshman point guard Laura Stockton, demonstrated some of her father's grit and scored 15 points off the bench. Frosh forward Jill Barta led Gonzaga with 18 points and nine rebounds, but the Bulldogs trailed most of the game and could only make abbreviated rally attempts after an 18-4 spurt pushed Utah ahead 64-45 in the third quarter.
Utah forward Emily Potter piled up 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Wing Tanaeya Boclair contributed 12 points and five assists. Point guard Danielle Rodriguez scored 11 points before fouling out. Backup point guard Erika Bean had four points, five assists, a block, a steal and no turnovers in 20 minutes.
"She did a great job," Roberts said. —
Storylines
R Counting a win last season when she coached Pacific, Lynne Roberts became one of the few men's or women's coaches in recent years to win at Gonzaga in back-to-back seasons.
• Gonzaga started the day ranked 14th in the nation in women's basketball attendance with a 5,365 average.
• Utah evened its all-time record in the postseason WNIT at 11-11.