Jan. 2, 2010

Final Stats |  Action Photos (1)  |  Action Photos (2) 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - San Jose State caught fire in the second half, using a 19-4 run to erase a Santa Clara lead and beat the Broncos in the Leavey Center 75-64.

San Jose State (4-9) shot .583 from the field after halftime, getting 23 points from leading-scorer Chasity Shavers and 10 second-half points from Samantha Marez on 4-of-6 shooting.

Santa Clara (2-13) - who led by as many as eight - found itself down by 15 with 4:03 left. Freshman guard Meagan Fulps poured in a team-high 19 for the Broncos. Lena Gipson posted her ninth double-double, totaling 14 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the 47th meeting between the two Silicon Valley schools. Both teams open-up conference play next week.

Thanks to 12 points by Fulps in the first half, Santa Clara led by eight in the opening 15 minutes. A Gipson jumper off the glass right before halftime gave the Broncos a 32-29 lead at the break.

The SCU advantage was four, 44-40, when Shavers made one of her nine field goals. Then, Marez and Sayla Sumler drew fouls and got to the free throw line, followed by a triple by Shaunna Ridge, pushing the Spartans in front by four with 12:05 left.

SJSU continued its second-half surge, going to Shavers, who buried a baseline 3 at the 7-minute mark to give SJSU a double-digit edge, 59-48.

Fulps answered with a trey on the other end to keep the Broncos within striking distance but the Spartans made 14-of-24 shots following the intermission and 15-of-20 free throws.

Santa Clara begins its West Coast Conference schedule on Friday, January 8 at San Diego, followed by a meeting with St. Mary's in Moraga Sunday, January 10.