Janelle Bekkering scored 17 points and became the 16th player in Gonzaga history to reach 1,000 in her career as the top-seeded Bulldogs cruised to a 96-71 victory Sunday over Portland in the West Coast Conference semifinals.
The win was the 17th straight for 22nd-ranked Gonzaga (27-4), which advances to the WCC tournament finals for the fifth consecutive season.
''We want to choose our own destiny,'' Bekkering said of gaining an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Gonzaga will face Saint Mary's in Monday's WCC final after the Gaels beat San Diego 71-68 in Sunday's other semifinal.
''Both are transition teams, and like to push the ball. Hopefully, they can't keep up with us,'' Bekkering said.
Portland tried early, especially with Gonzaga a bit out of sync having last played on Feb. 26. But it didn't take look to shake off the rust. After Amy Pupa gave Portland a 7-6 lead with 15:55 left in the first half, it was all Gonzaga.
Bekkering started a 13-0 run with a jumper, steal and 3-pointer, then WCC player of the year Courtney Vandersloot hit three of the next four shots for a 19-7 Gonzaga lead.
Natalie Day halted the run with a jumper, before Gonzaga went on another, this time an 11-0 streak that put the Bulldogs ahead 30-9.
''We started off a little slow then realized we needed to start running,'' Bekkering said. ''We fed off that.''
Gonzaga's Kayla Standish led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Vandersloot added 16 points and 14 assists.
ReZina TecleMariam led Portland (16-15) with 14 points and Natalie Day added 13.
Bekkering reached her milestone on a 3-pointer with 5:28 left in the first half.
''I didn't even realize it during the game,'' said Bekkering, who made 6 of 11 shots in the first half.
The Bulldogs came in leading the nation with an 86.2 scoring average, looking for their third straight WCC tournament title and fourth in five years.
Last year Gonzaga cruised through the conference tourney, beating Santa Clara by 40 in the semis and defeating Pepperdine 76-48 in the championship.
''We're rested, we're healthy,'' Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said of this year's group.
The Bulldogs also are deep.
Gonzaga had five players score in double figures Sunday, with Katelan Redmon adding 12 and reserve Claire Raap chipping in 10 in 12 minutes
''I thought Claire Raap stepped up for us. She gave us good effort offensively,'' Graves said.
Bekkering had 15 points in the first half, while Vandersloot had nine assists.
Gonzaga outscored Portland 26-8 in the paint in the first half and forced 12 turnovers.
Portland played Gonzaga nearly even in the second half, but it was too late.
''They really worked on our post,'' TecleMariam said. ''They knew our biggest player (Lauren Angel) was out. They just worked on us on the inside because we're a smaller team.''
Gonzaga led by as many as 25 points in the first half, and held a 44-21 halftime advantage.
The Pilots didn't score consecutive baskets until Tara Cronin and Sarah Kliewer scored inside on back-to-back shots nearly 7 minutes into the second half.
Portland committed 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 42-26. Gonzaga also had a 50-28 advantage in the paint, and 16-4 edge in fast break points.
''They're a good team. They're well-coached,'' Portland coach Jim Sollars said. ''I'll leave it at that.''
