Nov. 14, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA - Santa Clara trailed by just three in the second half before homestanding Iowa pulled-away, winning 67-51 in the opening game of the Hawkeye Challenge Saturday in Iowa City.
One of Alyssa Shoji's three triples and a layup by Maggie Goldenberger contributed to a 9-0 first-half run by Santa Clara. The Broncos and Hawkeyes were separated by just two points, 24-22, with 4:07 left before the intermission.
Santa Clara (1-1) received a team-high 16 points from Shoji, 12 from Lena Gipson while Goldenberger played a game-high 34 minutes.
Iowa (1-0) - coming off a 21-11 season and its 19th trip to the NCAA Tournament - was playing its season-opener. Kachine Alexander scored 19 points and had 18 rebounds.
Gipson made it a three-point game with a basket on Santa Clara's first possession of the second half, then the Broncos went scoreless for nearly five minutes. Meanwhile Alexander was enjoying a career night, reeling off eight of the game's next 10 points, allowing Iowa to establish a 41-28 lead with 15:45 remaining.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, combining to make just 9-of-42 shots from beyond the arc.
Santa Clara will play the loser between UCLA and Illinois State Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. PT. For complete tournament coverage click here.