SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Jill Townsend scored a career-high 28 points and No. 13 Gonzaga rolled to a 78-52 victory over Loyola Marymount on Saturday, extending the Bulldogs’ nation-best win streak to 18 games.

Gonzaga (20-1, 9-0 West Coast Conference) is off to the best start in program history and is closing in on the program record of 23 straight wins set during the 2004-05 season. Meanwhile, LMU hasn’t won in Spokane since 2002.

Townsend shot 11 of 16 including 6 of 8 from the arc for the nation’s fifth-best 3-point shooting team (39% before Saturday). Gonzaga was 11 of 19 from the arc on Saturday for 58%, better than its overall mark of 52%. Jenn Wirth scored 17 points with 13 rebounds.

Chelsey Gipson scored 14 points and Ciera Ellington 13 for the Lions (7-15, 3-6).

Townsend’s first 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs the lead for good early in the first quarter. A 14-3 run in the third quarter put Gonzaga ahead by 18 and the lead remained in double figures.

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