SPOKANE, Wash. — In a back-and-forth battle on the road, the Lions traded punches with the Bulldogs throughout the afternoon before falling in double overtime, 87–80, as Gonzaga outlasted LMU in a gritty conference opener that came down to the final possessions of regulation and beyond.
Maya Hernandez paced the Lions with a team-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists, anchoring LMU’s interior presence. Allison Clarke followed with 17 points, including four made threes, while finishing a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line and adding two assists and a steal. Jess Lawson contributed 12 points and four rebounds with two assists and two steals, and Carly Heidger added 11 points and five boards while going 4-for-4 at the stripe.
Gonzaga opened the game with an early 5–0 burst before the Lions responded at the free-throw line, as Lawson went 2-for-2 to put LMU on the board. Hernandez followed with a pair of strong finishes at the rim, and later a fast-break layup off a turnover tied the game at 7–7. Ogot added a late driving layup to keep the Lions close, with the Bulldogs holding a 15–11 lead after one…