Dec. 27, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's basketball team will return to the court this week looking to snap their current three-game slide Thursday, Dec. 28 in a 2 p.m. matinee against the visiting Toledo Rockets. SCU will then travel to downtown San Jose to battle the San Jose State Spartans in a Rivalry Series contest Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.
SCU (6-7) returns to the court after a week off and with these two contests will conclude its non-conference schedule. The WCC season will begin for the Broncos on Sunday, Jan. 7 as they head up to Moraga to face the Saint Mary's Gaels.
The Broncos, coming off of a pair of losses in Kansas two weeks ago and a 98-72 setback last Wednesday to Montana, aim to get back into the "W" column Thursday against the Rockets. Chandice Cronk remains atop the WCC with 17.3 points a game, 3.77 three-pointers a game, and a 47.6% three-point shooting mark. Point guard Ashley Graham's 12.2 points a game sits eighth in the conference, while her 39.2% three-pint shooting and 4.85 assists per game rank third. Forward Jen Gottschalk, who returned to the court full-time with 11 points and four rebounds against Montana, is third in the WCC, shooting 51.9% from the floor.
Toledo (4-6), out of the Mid-American Conference, comes to Santa Clara for the first time Thursday afternoon. The Rockets, after starting the year 1-4, have won three of their least five, but head into this week's meeting following a 53-51 loss at home to Indiana State. The Rockets are led by Diana Reindl's 11.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while Savannah Werner (10.5 ppg) and Danielle Bishop (10.4 ppg) also help carry the scoring load.
Thursday afternoon's contest between Santa Clara and Toledo will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
San Jose State (0-12) heads into Saturday night's Rivalry Series battle seeking its first win of the 2006-07 season. Last week, the Spartans dropped a pair of contests on the road, falling 69-61 at North Dakota State before dropping a 98-63 decision at South Dakota State. Brittany Helm leads the team with 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while Natalie White is scoring 12.9 points a game.
The Broncos hold a 23-20 edge in the all-time series against their crosstown rivals, and have won 14 of the last 15 meetings since the 1990-91 season. Santa Clara captured last year's contest 81-70 at the Leavey Center.
