Oct. 13, 2000
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's basketball team will begin practice for the 2000-01season this Saturday, Oct. 14, at Bellarmine College Prep. The team will practice twice on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 5-7 p.m.
Due to renovation in the Leavey Event Center, Santa Clara will conduct preseason practices and play one exhibition contest in the Pat Malley Fitness & Recreation Center. A few practices as well as the other exhibition will take place in the gymnasium at Bellarmine. During the week, SCU is scheduled to practice from 5-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Practices on Tuesday and Thursday will be held from 4-6:30 p.m. Please call Santa Clara Athletics for updated practice times and sites.
The Bronco schedule begins with two exhibition games. The first, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, will be against the Bay Area Pro-Am at 8 p.m. That will take place at the Malley Center. Santa Clara will then host the RTU Clondica Riga, a touring team from Latvia, Nov. 8 at Bellarmine at 8 p.m.
Santa Clara opens the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 18 against Pacific. The game will begin at 8 p.m. Santa Clara returns 11 letterwinners and three starters from a team that went 21-9 last season and finished third in the West Coast Conference with a 10-4 mark. The team is led by first-year head coach Chris Denker.
Santa Clara basketball fans will notice a new home for Bronco basketball. Well, sort of. The Leavey Event Center (popularly known as Toso Pavilion) well debut on Dec. 27 when SCU takes on Maryland. The men's team will open the new facility two weeks earlier, hosting Fresno State. The building was opened in 1975 with an air-supported, fabric roof and was popularly known as "the Bubble."
On April 4, the bubble was deflated and construction began on a roughly $15 million renovation project. The project is scheduled to be completed in three phases. Fans attending the Dec. 27 contest will notice a new roof, floor, bleachers and seating, scoreboard, sound system, lighting, rest rooms, entrances and an impressive two-story glass wall around the entire arena.
Season and individual game tickets are scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Monday, Oct. 16. Tickets can be purchased by calling the athletic ticket office at 408-554-4660 or by going online at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
-- www.santaclarabroncos.com --
