Broncos Edged 48-45 By Dons

Broncos Edged 48-45 By Dons

Jan. 24, 2009

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO - The Santa Clara women's basketball team was edged 48-45 by the University of San Francisco Dons Saturday afternoon in West Coast Conference action. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 0-5 in league play and 2-18 on the season, while the Dons picked up their first conference win (1-4) and are 5-14 overall.

The Broncos outshot and out-rebounded the Dons, but USF earned 13 points off of SCU's turnovers to take the advantage. Lena Gipson led Santa Clara with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Sara Majors also tied the game-high 10 rebounds, while Elizabeth Doran and Alyssa Shoji were hot from behind the arc, combining for five of the Broncos six three-pointers.

The Broncos jumped to a 15-4 lead by the 13:10 mark. Santa Clara started off with back-to-back three-pointers from Rhianna Faithfull and Doran. Despite being held at 15 points for about six minutes, the Broncos were able to keep the Dons in single digits until there was 6:22 remaining in the half. SCU claimed an 11-point lead on two more occasions. The last was at 3:16 on a layup from Gipson, 23-12. The Dons tacked on four more points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Danesha Wright. The Broncos led 23-16 going into halftime.

SCU started off strong in the second half and climbed to a 31-20 lead on free throws by Majors. However, 13-0 run produced by USF gave the Dons a two-point lead, 33-31 with 10:22 to play. Maggie Goldenberger interrupted the run to tie the score, 33-33, but USF regained the lead and pushed it to 45-35 on a trey by Shay Rollins. Shoji responded with five straight points to cut the gap in half, 45-40 with 3:25 remaining.

At 2:45, Gipson brought the Broncos within three points on free shots and with her third trey of the game, Doran tied the score 45-45 with 41.8 seconds left in regulation. However, who scored the final 15 points for the Dons, was sent to the line twice and made three of her four free throw attempts to give USF back the lead, 48-45, with 8.2 seconds left. A buzzer trey attempt from Doran did not quite make it and the Dons won 48-45.

The Broncos remain on the road with a trip down south next weekend. Santa Clara will face Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at Gersten Pavilion. SCU then takes on Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. at Firestone Pavilion.