Nov. 6, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's basketball team looked like its familiar self Monday night as the girls hit 12-of-24 three-point attempts on the way to an 87-51 victory over the San Francisco State Gators in the team's final exhibition game at the Leavey Center. The Broncos will now look to keep the momentum going as they open up the 2006-07 regular season this Sunday, Nov. 12 with a 2 p.m. game against the Long Beach State 49ers in Long Beach.
SCU's 2006-07 home opener is set to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. against the University of Miami Hurricanes. Tickets are available by calling (408) 554-4660 or by clicking here.
Chandice Cronk led the Broncos with 13 points and three steals Monday night, connecting on three treys while Ashley Graham and Elizabeth Doran were each 4-of-5 from the floor and perfect from beyond the arc, as Graham hit all three of her attempts and Doran both of hers for 11 and 12 points on the night, respectively. Freshman Brittany Purvis also fueled the open-floor attack by nailing her pair of three-point attempts and adding nine points to the effort.
"Both Liz and Brittany, who was seeing her first minutes as a freshman, came in and were very aggressive and I thought they played very within themselves," said head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson.
Despite a slow start which saw the team fall behind 10-7 in the first five minutes, the Broncos got rolling with a lay-up from Jen Gottschalk followed by an Anna Martin three which gave SCU the lead for good at 12-10 only six minutes in.
From there, the Broncos continued their 12-0 run with a pair of free throws each from Cronk and Tracey Walker, and capped by a Cronk three. A 6-0 run minutes later ran the lead to 13 at 27-14 and from that point the rout was on. Santa Clara shot 50.0% from the floor in the first half and went into the locker room with a 55-25 advantage.
The Broncos continued to pour it on in the second half, getting the lead all the way up to 34 at one point at 72-38 after consecutive jumpers capped by a three by Doran. Sara Majors also kept the Broncos rolling late as she was perfect in all eight of her chances from the free throw line, underscoring a night in which SCU cashed in on 19-of-20 free throw attempts, looking ready for Sunday's opener.
"We've worked very hard between these two exhibition games, and we're also becoming a very efficient team on the defensive end," Bento-Jackson said of the team's exhibition performances. "Although we did get a little sloppy at times tonight, we just have to keep working and learn to value each possession."