Nov. 14, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After earning the program's first season-opening victory since the 2002-03 season with a 76-67 victory over Long Beach State last Sunday, the Santa Clara women's basketball team opens up the home slate this week looking to keep the winning ways going. The Broncos will host the Miami Hurricanes Wednesday night, Nov. 15 before closing out the week with a Friday night contest against the Cal Poly Mustangs at 7 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available by calling (408) 554-4660 or by clicking here.
Coming off of a season which saw them capture the West Coast Conference regular-season title and make the postseason for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons by earning a bid to the WNIT, the Broncos came out of the gate strong in Sunday's season opener. Guards Chandice Cronk and Ashley Graham led the way by each hitting four three-pointers in nine attempts, with Cronk scoring a career-high 24 points and Graham tallying 17. Fellow guard Tracey Walker scored eight points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds as the Bronco guards showed early on exactly the type of tenacious play that they are capable of.
Santa Clara also applied constant pressure to the 49ers, making 10 thefts and forcing 24 turnovers in the contest while only committing nine of their own. The Broncos also demonstrated sound depth on the scoresheet as nine players scored in the win.
Miami (2-0), out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, opened its 2006-07 over the last weekend with a pair of home wins, a 68-60 victory over Georgia State on Friday and a 78-71 triumph over Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the BankUnited Center on Monday Night. Hurricanes guard Renee Taylor scored a game-high 23 points in Monday's win over the Panthers, and over the first two contests is averaging 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds. 6-3 center Brittany Denson adds 8.5 points a game and through the first two games leads Miami with 10.5 rebounds a game.
Wednesday's contest between the Broncos and Hurricanes will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
The Mustangs (0-1), representing the Big West Conference, opened their season last Saturday with a 73-63 loss to the Nevada Wolfpack. Freshman forward Bria Fields made a memorable debut for Cal Poly, turning in a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the losing effort. Friday's meeting between Cal Poly and Santa Clara will be the 11th all-time, with the Broncos leading the series 8-3.
Following the two-game homestand, Santa Clara will hit the road once more, traveling to Idaho for a game against Boise State on Monday, Nov. 20 and from there heading to Provo, Utah to face No. 18 BYU Wednesday, Nov. 22.