No. 23 Gonzaga women beat SFA in homecoming for Truong twins

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (AP) — Kaylynne Truong had 21 points and seven assists, Yvonne Ejim added 19 points and nine rebounds and No. 23 Gonzaga beat Stephen F. Austin 71-59 on Thursday night in a homecoming for the Truong twins.

Kayleigh Truong and Kaylynne both graduated from Jersey Village High School in Houston. In 2019, they led the Falcons to a District 17-6A championship with a 33-3 overall record and 16-0 in district play.

Kayleigh Truong (foot), Eliza Hollingsworth (illness) and Maud Huijbens (concussion) did not play for Gonzaga (7-1), which left just eight players in uniform.

But that didn’t slow the Bulldogs early on as Ejim scored the first seven points of the game and Gonzaga made its first seven field goals during a 14-0 run. Stephen F. Austin missed its first 11 shots and trailed 23-5 before making its first basket with under a minute to play in the opening quarter.

Gonzaga led by as many as 18 points in the game. SFA scored the opening six points of the fourth quarter to get within 53-49, but Brynna Maxwell converted a three-point play for Gonzaga and Truong added a 3-pointer for a 10-point lead.

Maxwell finished with 13 points for Gonzaga (7-1). Calli Stokes made her first career start and scored eight points.

Kyla Deck scored 22 points, with four 3-pointers, for SFA (5-2), which also lost to Rice. Aiyana Johnson added 13 points.

SFA opened the second quarter on an 14-2 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Deck, to get within 27-23. The Bulldogs were ahead 36-29 at the break after shooting 56%.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25