Nov. 20, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - It was a tale of two very different halves Thursday night as the Santa Clara women's basketball team fell 62-52 to Sacramento State. The Broncos controlled the first half of the game, leading by nine going into halftime, but the Hornets responded with two fierce runs in the second half to take control and the win.
Santa Clara dropped to 0-3, while Sac State improved to 1-2.
For the Broncos, Lena Gipson led the game with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Of her season-high boards, 16 were defensive. Elizabeth Doran chipped in with 10 points.
Four Hornets registered double-digit points, with Sami Field-Polisso tallying a game-high 17 points. Atty Boyer had 13 points, Erika Edwards tabbed a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Charday Hunt had 10 points.
Sac State took an early 4-0 lead but at 15:15 Santa Clara knotted the score, 7-7, on a jumper by Alyssa Shoji. The Broncos then took their second lead of the season on another deuce from Shoji, 9-7. At 6:44, redshirt freshman Rhianna Faithfull gave SCU a nine-point advantage with her first three-pointer of the season, 24-15. Just 17 seconds later, Faithfull sunk another trey to make it a 12-point lead, 27-15.
The Broncos continued to climb and, with 1:30 left, they produced their largest lead of the half, 35-20, on a solid jumper by Gipson. However, the Hornets narrowed the gap to single digits before halftime with three-pointers by Hunt and Field-Polisso. Santa Clara led 35-26.
The Hornets quickly took control in the second half with an 13-2 run. Hunt made it a one-point game at 16:26 with a layup, 37-36, and Field-Polisso registered a trey to give Sac State a 39-27 lead. Yet, Gipson responded for the Broncos 30 seconds later with a jumper to tie the score, 39-39. Becky Goll put the Broncos up by two-points, 41-39, and a free throw and a layup by Gipson gave Santa Clara a 44-39 advantage.
Yet, Sac State was not ready to back down and knotted the score, 44-44, with 10:51 remaining. At 9:15, a pair of free throws from Field-Polisso gave the Hornets a 46-44 lead. Sac State continued to push ahead and earned its largest lead of the game, 10-points, at 6:15 on a three-point play by Erika Edwards, 54-44.
Santa Clara was held scoreless just about nine minutes until a layup by Kelli Parker broke the silence at 3:00, 56-48. The Broncos were able to score just two more baskets and a pair of free throws to trail the Hornets by a final score of 62-52.
The Broncos return to action on Monday, Nov. 24 against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. in Flagstaff, Ariz.