Nov. 25, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's basketball team returned to their winning ways Sunday afternoon as it defeated the 49ers of Long Beach State, 70-55, at the Leavey Center. With the win, the Broncos improved to 4-2 on the season, while the 49ers dropped to 1-3 overall.
Senior Jen Gottschalk posted her third game-leading performance with 26 points. The forward from Littleton, Colo., went 11-for-14 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Also posting double-figure points was redshirt junior Sara Majors. She registered 12 points and a game-best eight rebounds. Senior Tracey Walker had an all-around performance for the Broncos with nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
SCU plowed to a nine-point advantage, 11-2, in the first three minutes of the game on points from Gottschalk, Walker, Majors and Elizabeth Doran. Long Beach State tried to close the gap on a layup from Courtney Jacob and free throws from Lindsey Beckner, 13-7. However, the Broncos continued to push ahead and earned a 12-point edge, 22-10, on a three-point goal from Majors with 7:15 remaining.
Four straight points from Gottschalk within 23 seconds made the score 26-13 for Santa Clara. Gottschalk went 6-for-7 from the field in the first half. With 1:03 remaining in the first half, freshman Nicole Gall sunk a trey to give SCU their largest lead of the first half, 34-18. However, Karina Figueroa tacked on three more points for Long Beach State to make the final score of the first half, 34-21.
The Broncos returned for the break full of energy and continued to widen their lead. A layup from Majors made the score, 40-25 and with 13:05 on the clock, Majors struck again with a three-point goal to give Santa Clara its largest lead of the game, 45-25. Yet, the 49ers posted a 10-2 run on points from Ally Wade, Lauren Sims and Jacob to make the score, 47-35.
Sophomore Maggie Goldenberger aided in the Broncos dominance of the second half as she received a quick pass from Gottschalk to score a layup and make the score 49-35. A little less than a minute later, Goldenberger made a huge offensive rebound and nailed a jumper to give the Broncos a 16-point advantage, 51-35. She went 3-for-4 from the field in just nine minutes of action in the second half.
Long Beach State was not quite ready to give up and brought the score within nine points, 59-50, with 3:21 remaining in regulation. But SCU produced a 13-5 run to end the game, 70-55.
For the 49ers, Wade led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Tyresha Calhoun tallied 12 points and Figueroa chipped in with 11 points.
The Broncos return to action on Thursday, Nov. 29 against the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Leavey Center.