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Blocked shot record falls in Zags win

Feb 12, 2010 - 5:36 AM MORAGA, Calif.(AP) -- Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's broke both the NCAA Division I career and single-season records for blocked shots, but Courtney Vandersloot had 18 points, 11 assists and three blocks of her own to lead No. 22 Gonzaga to an 88-75 victory Thursday night.

Despite battling foul trouble, Tomlinson blocked five shots to move her career total to 483, pushing her past Sandora Irvin of TCU and Michigan State's Alyssa DeHaan, who tied Irvin with one block Thursday for Michigan State.

Tomlinson's final block of the night erased Brittany Pittman's record of 164, which she set last year for Morehead State.

Tomlinson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Gaels (17-8, 8-2 in the West Coast Conference).

Katelan Redmond led Gonzaga (20-4, 9-4) with 20 points and Kayla Standish had 18 points. Tiffanie Shives added 13.

Jontelle Smith led all scorers with 24 points for Saint Mary's.

Gonzaga controlled the game in the early going, but St. Mary's battled back to take the lead late in the first half, and trailed by just two at the break.

But Gonzaga opened the second half with an 11-0 run and the Gaels never got closer than seven again.

Tomlinson broke the career block record with 9:12 remaining by rejecting Standish, and slightly less than five minutes later, blocked another Standish attempt to set a new single-season mark.

"I've always said I'd rather take the win," said Tomlinson afterward. "I knew I'd get the record at some point."

Foul problems were an issue for both teams.

Tomlinson only played 10 minutes in the first half, and picked up her third foul less than a minute into the second half. She added No. 4 with 14:25 to go.

For Gonzaga, Shives played just nine minutes in the first half and had four fouls after just four minutes of the second. Heather Bowman, the Zags' leading scorer, played only six minutes in the first half, and fouled out after just 14 minutes and seven points.