Broncos Have Win Stolen Away By Lions, 59-56

Broncos Have Win Stolen Away By Lions, 59-56

Jan. 29, 2009

Box Score

LOS ANGELES - After a smoldering first half and an intense late second half rally, the Santa Clara women's basketball team was edged 59-56 at Loyola Marymount Thursday night in West Coast Conference play. The Broncos (2-19, 0-6 WCC) outshot the Lions (14-6, 4-2 WCC) 42.9 percent to 34.6 percent; however, LMU went 20-for-24 from the free throw line, while SCU was held to 3-for-5.

Lena Gipson produced double-double No. 15 with a game-high 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Elizabeth Doran tied her career-high four three-pointers as she tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Maggie Goldenberger rounded out the Broncos' double-digit scorers with 12 points.

Alex Cowling led the Lions with 14 points and seven rebounds. Cassady Moore added 13 points and Lisa Helmers registered 10 points.

Santa Clara skyrocketed to a 13-2 lead five minutes into the first half. Goldenberger opened the game with a jumper and Sara Majors knocked down her first three-pointer in six games to put SCU up, 5-0. Doran then scored back-to-back treys to give the Broncos an 11-0 advantage with 17:22 to play. Goldenberger capped the 13-0 run with a jumper before Cowling interrupted to put LMU on the board, 13-2 with 15:51 to play.

Yet, the Broncos held strong and continued to push head. At 9:31, Claire Goins gave SCU a 17-point lead, 25-8. Redshirt freshman Becky Goll returned to the court and made an immediate impact, dishing out an assist on a Goldenberger layup that gave SCU a 29-14 advantage. Goll then scored her a jumper of her own to give the Broncos their 31 first half points. However, the basket, which was scored at 6:38, was Santa Clara's last of the half. LMU gained control of the ball and went on a 10-0 run to head into second half just trailing by seven, 31-24.

At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Broncos shot 56.5 percent from the field compared to the Lions 28.0 percent, and out-rebounded the Lions 17-8.

LMU picked up right from where it left off and pushed its run to 24-0 to take a 38-31 lead by the first media timeout at 15:56. Helmers scored six of the Lions 14 points in the second half. At 13:42, Gipson ended Santa Clara's second half drought with two straight layups, 42-35. The Broncos continued to chip away at the lead and cut the gap to six points, 50-44, at 6:23 on a layup from Gipson. She posted seven straight points and Goldenberger grabbed the offensive rebound and made the layup to make it a one possession game, 54-51, with 1:32 to play.

Down 55-51 with 1:12 remaining in regulation, Gipson converted a three-point play to bring the Broncos within one-point, 55-54. A layup from Cassady Moore put the Lions back up by three, 57-54; yet Gipson made it a one-point game once more, 57-56, with 2.3 seconds to play. Helmers was fouled in the final second and made her two free throws for the final score of 59-56.

The Broncos return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31 against the Waves of Pepperdine. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.