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# Gonzaga WBB Rides Dominant Second Quarter to Down North Dakota State in Season Opener
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/gonzaga-bulldogs-dominant-second-quarter-down-north-dakota-state-season-opener/
- Published: 2025-11-08T06:17:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:21.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Gonzaga, Allie Turner, Lauren Whittaker, Zeryhia Aokuso, Inês Bettencourt

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="831"\]

![ Allie Turner and Lauren Whittaker during Gonzaga’s 81-66 win against North Dakota State on November 7, 2025 in Fargo, ND. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/screenshot-2025-11-07-at-11-08-09-e2-80-afpm-format-original-1.png)

Allie Turner and Lauren Whittaker during Gonzaga’s 81-66 win against North Dakota State on November 7, 2025 in Fargo, ND. \[/caption\]

Powered by a strong second quarter on the defensive end, Gonzaga women’s basketball (1-0) picked up an 81-66 victory over North Dakota State in its season opener. 

After the two teams went back-and-forth in the opening quarter, the Zags stifled the Bison with their patented 1-2-2 trap zone, limiting NDSU to just seven points in the second period. It was a strong showing for Gonzaga to kick off the season, where a multitude of different faces will be eating up minutes this year.

Perhaps the excitement of the first game that mattered on the schedule led to both sides playing physical and fast to open things up, as neither team could separate in the early going. Gonzaga’s defensive pressure really started to settle in at the end of the quarter, where a missed shot by the Bison led to a Julia Wilson and-one bucket in transition, capping a sequence where the true freshman provided a spark off the bench to end the quarter. In the second quarter, GU shot just 21 percent and scored only 12 points, which serves as a testament to how well the team played on the other end of the floor.

For over eight minutes, NDSU put up a donut in the scoring column, which nearly ran to halftime if not for a buzzer-beating shot from its leading scorer, Avery Koenen, who finished with 17 points along with seven rebounds. In that span, Gonzaga forced five turnovers and suffocated its opponent, really never looking back after. Riding that momentum out of the break, more shots started to fall in the third quarter for the Zags while keeping up the defensive intensity, outscoring the Bison 26-12 in the period.

Four different Bulldogs ended up in double figures, led by Allie Turner’s 18\. After hitting a program record 105 threes in her freshman campaign, she got off to a hot start in her sophomore season, shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against the Bison. Redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker finally laced up in a regular-season contest for the Zags after tearing her ACL ahead of last season and delivered a near double-double (13 points, nine rebounds).

Junior Zeryhia Aokuso added 14 points in her Bulldogs debut, giving Gonzaga exactly what she displayed in two seasons at St. Mary’s: being aggressive offensively and playing inside the three-point line, converting down low, and knocking down mid-range jumpers. Senior Inês Bettencourt was also impactful, dropping 12 points with four rebounds and assists apiece. The guard trio of Turner, Aokuso, and Bettencourt makes up a dynamic ball-handling attack from the Zags, where each player presents a different skillset that complements the others.

Surprisingly enough, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 16 times, two more than the Bison, but made up for it in the rebounding battle and on the three-point line. The Zags hauled in 37 boards to North Dakota State’s 28 and got 16 second-chance points on the offensive glass. NDSU was simply ice cold from downtown, missing its first 13 three-point attempts, with a good handful of those shots being open as well. Amelia Hobson finally broke the drought near the conclusion of the third quarter, as the Bison finished 3-for-20 from behind the arc. GU was much more efficient from long range, shooting 8-for-12 on those attempts.

The game didn’t end completely smoothly for the Bulldogs, though, as Aokuso was removed from the game with an apparent injury in essential garbage time. With about four minutes to go, she jabbed to her left and came up hobbled on a drive, losing the ball and committing a turnover before limping off the court. The severity is unknown to this point, but the Zags do have a quick turnaround for their next game, traveling to Toledo for a matchup against the Rockets on Sunday, November 9, at 11:30 AM PT.