SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A back-and-forth game ended up in a 61-54 loss for Santa Clara women’s basketball to Saint Mary’s in the WCC opener. The Broncos (6-5, 0-1 WCC) got out to a fast start, but the Gaels (5-5, 1-0 WCC) answered back with a big second quarter to make it close the rest of the way. Things fell apart in overtime for Santa Clara as they couldn’t connect on their first few shots and Saint Mary’s took advantage of free throws.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara used a 6-0 run in the first quarter to get out on top by nine and would lead 15-8 at the end of the period.
- Saint Mary’s came out with the first seven points of the second quarter to tie things at 15 and took their first lead of the night with 51 seconds to go. A bucket for the Broncos on their final possession tied things up at 22 at the break.
- The Broncos jumped out with the first five points of the second half but an 8-0 run for Saint Mary’s made it a 33-30 lead for the Gaels. A bucket in the final seconds of the quarter put Santa Clara down 36-34 headed to the final period.
- A 6-0 run put the Broncos up on top by four and they would lead by as many as five in the period. The Gaels knocked down a game-tying 3-pointers with nine seconds and the Santa Clara couldn’t win it on its final possession.
- Overtime started with Saint Mary’s scoring the first six, four from the free throw line. The teams were a combined 2-of-11 from the floor during the extra period but the Gaels knocked down nine free throws to the Broncos one.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Santa Clara finished the game at 34.3-percent from the floor and just 6-of-26 from beyond the arc. The Broncos biggest issue came at the free throw line where they were just 4-of-13.
- Saint Mary’s shot 33.3-percent from the field and were 5-of-21 from downtown. Unlike the Broncos, the Gaels took advantage at the charity stripe, going 19-of-23, including 9-of-10 in the overtime.
- Maddie Naro led Santa Clara with 16 on 6-of-10 shooting and a career-high four 3-pointers on seven attempts. Olivia Pollerd added 10 points and seven rebounds with Georgia Grigoropoulou scoring nine and pulling down seven boards as well. Former Gael Hannah Rapp had a game-high 13 boards.
- Kennedy Johnson led all scorers with 25 points and added a team-leading nine rebounds. Abigail Shoff scored 13 and Zeryhia Aokuso had 11 points with eight assists.
NEXT UP
- The Broncos play at Pepperdine Saturday at 4 p.m.
