Dec. 7, 2002
TULSA, Okla. - Santa Clara's Tammy Annas' driving lay-up with 51-seconds remaining in the game broke a 70-70 tie and the Broncos held on to stun Tulsa, 75-72, in front of 1,125 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
After falling behind by 15 points in front of the home crowd, Tulsa (3-4) rallied to tie the game on junior Kayla's Elliott's lay-up with 1:06 to go in the game. But Elliott, who was also fouled on the shot, missed the ensuing free throw that would have given TU a one-point advantage. Instead, Santa Clara (3-3) called a timeout and Annas beat the TU defense on a back-door cut on the baseline for an easy lay-up.
The Hurricane was forced to foul and the Broncos built a five-point lead with 13 second left. However, a jumper by TU senior All-America candidate Allison Curtin pulled Tulsa to within three points with 8-seconds remaining. Curtin then stole the ball and launched a three-point attempt that would have tied the game with four ticks on the clock, but the shot was short and the Broncos came up with the rebound.
Curtin led all scorers with 24 points and also recorded six rebounds, a team-high seven assists and a school record eight steals. Sophomore Allison Carney made the first start of her young career and finished with seven points and a team-best eight boards.
Kayla Huss came off the bench to lead three Santa Clara players into double figures with 17 points. Annas and Quinn Tomas each finished with 12 points apiece.
The Broncos shot 48-percent in each half and sizzled from the three-point line in both periods, including 50-percent in the second half, and finished the game 46-percent from long distance. TU was ice cold in the first half, but warmed up in the final period to shoot 47-percent. The Broncos also controlled the boards with a 44-38 advantage.
Tulsa jumped out to a six-point lead early in the first half. Santa Clara rallied and pulled to within a point, 13-12, at the 12:49 mark. Megan Nelson put the Broncos ahead for good with a lay-up and the Broncos built an eight-point lead, while TU struggled with shooting and rebounding. Santa Clara shot 48-percent from the field, including 43-percent from behind the three-point line, while TU shot a miserable 27-percent from the field and 22-percent from behind the arc in the first half.
Santa Clara returns to the court next weekend at Oregon.
