Feb. 15, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University's women's basketball program has been named the second recipient of the Comcast Community All-Star Award, in honor of the contributions Bronco student-athletes add to our local community.

The award was presented at halftime of the men's basketball game against Saint Mary's last Friday. The presentation included Comcast representatives, the women's basketball team and coaching staff, and Director of Athletics Dan Coonan.

The women's basketball program has been active during the current academic year, taking part in numerous community service projects. In October, the squad raised more than $2,000 and participated in the "Making Strides against Breast Cancer" 5K walk in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

The team also regularly hosts youth clinics and invites middle school programs into the team room after games to meet collegiate student-athletes and to get posters autographed.

The Broncos fundraised more than $2,000 in October in honor of breast cancer reasearch.

A plaque will hang in the front trophy case that bears the inscription of each month's winners.

The monthly award was established in January, and the women's golf team received the inaugural honor, due to its continuing relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Birdies for Wishes program, benefiting children who are terminally ill.

Santa Clara (12-11, 6-4 WCC) remains on the road and will play two key league games in the Los Angeles area this week. The Broncos will face Pepperdine on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Waves' Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. Santa Clara will follow with a 2 p.m. Saturday match-up at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Waves are currently one-half game behind the Broncos in the league race, while LMU has a one-game advantage in second place.