Game Notes in PDF Format
Michael Spero Previews Week #4
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Bronco women's basketball team wraps up a five-game road swing this week, going halfway across the country, facing South Dakota Tuesday, November 30 at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, then Wichita State Thursday, December 2 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita. Both games are scheduled to tip at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (7 p.m. CT).
Twenty-four degree temperatures and snow flurries greeted Santa Clara upon their arrival in Vermillion Monday night to practice at the DakotaDome.
Game Notes - Week #4 Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 2010
SANTA CLARA @ SOUTH DAKOTA
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 • 5:00 p.m. (PT)
Game #5 • Road Game #4 • Vermillion, SD
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
SANTA CLARA @ WICHITA STATE
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 • 5:00 p.m. (PT)
Game #6 • Road Game #5 • Wichita, KS
Live Stats | Live Audio
LIVE COVERAGE
Both games this week will have FREE audio streamed online. Additionally, if fans want to watch Tuesday's game at South Dakota for a fee of $9.95, they can visit (http://www.dakotacast.org/usd/index.htm). FREE live stats for both games will also be offered. Visit the women's basketball schedule page on SantaClaraBroncos.com to access the direct links or click on the links above.
GAME NOTES
- Santa Clara is led by third year head coach Jennifer Mountain
- The Broncos are finishing a stretch of playing 5 of 6 away from home to start the year
- SCU is coming off a 66-53 setback at Cal State Bakersfield
- Santa Clara has struggled from the field this year, shooting just .354 percent as a team
- Alyssa Shoji (twice) and Meagan Fulps (twice) have led SCU in scoring in each of the first four games
- Meagan Fulps is coming off a season-high 13-point game at CSUB
- Lena Gipson pulled down 15 rebounds at CSUB last week, moving into sixth place on SCU's all-time rebounding list with 664
- Santa Clara and South Dakota played an extremely entertaining game last season at the Leavey Center, with USD winning on a baseline three-pointer just before the buzzer, 69-66
- Gipson (18), Shoji (17) and Fulps (13) combined to score 48 of SCU's 66 points last year vs. USD
- The Coyotes lead the Great West Conference at 6.8 blocks per game
- Wichita State went 18-14 last season and qualified for the WBI tournament
- WSU is the third opponent in six games for SCU that made it to postseason play in 2009-10; Fresno State (NCAA) and Cal State Bakersfield (WBI)
- The Broncos and Shockers have never met
- UP NEXT: 'BAWSI Night' at the Leavey Center on Sunday, Dec. 5; one of four games featured in the 'Be a Part of It' campaign as Santa Clara plays host to NorCal rival Sacramento State at 2 p.m.
SANTA CLARA
A home game with Sacramento State awaits the Broncos (0-4) back at the Leavey Center on Sunday afternoon but SCU will try to pick up its first win of the year before then, hoping for a victory on the road at South Dakota Tuesday or Wichita State on Thursday. Santa Clara is playing five of their first six away from home and has struggled to get it going offensively on the road. Alyssa Shoji (11.5 ppg) and Meagan Fulps (10.0 ppg) are averaging double-figures in scoring, but as a team the Broncos are putting up just 55.2 points per night – a league low. All-WCC power forward Lena Gipson is coming off her best rebounding night of the season, pulling down 15 boards in Santa Clara's 66-53 loss at Cal State Bakersfield prior to the Thanksgiving break. Newcomers, 6-foot, 2-inch forward Lindsay Leo and 5-foot, 10-inch guard Ricki Radanovich, have given third-year head coach Jennifer Mountain more athleticism and length to complement the Broncos big three of Shoji, Fulps and Gipson. To be successful one would think SCU would have to break out of an early-season shooting slump, especially their .207 percent (18 of 87) clip from 3-point range and improve on a turnover margin of -4.5.
SOUTH DAKOTA
The Coyotes (3-3) were 15-16 last season, which included a buzzer-beating victory over Santa Clara at the Leavey Center, 69-66, on December 6, 2009. Third-year head coach Ryun Williams is bringing back two starters from last year's team, highlighted by leading scorer and rebounder Amber Hegge (15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Like Santa Clara, USD is not a high-scoring team, averaging 59.7 points per game. USD has three wins but their only Division I victory came in overtime, 62-57, at Northern Colorado – the same UNC team that beat Santa Clara in Greeley 65-57. The Coyotes have been outrebounded by an average of eight boards per game but are defending the basket well, limiting their opponents to a field goal percentage of .322. The Coyotes are playing four straight at home, having beat Upper Iowa 71-47 on November 23, and now hosting Santa Clara, Creighton and Wichita State this week.
WICHITA STATE
Wichita State was 18-14 last season and advanced into the second round of the WBI postseason tournament. The Shockers enter the week 3-2 following a Thanksgiving trip to Southern California. WSU played twice at Cal State Northridge's Matadome, beating Northridge 67-58 then losing to Wyoming 63-55. Wichita State was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll this season. Third-year head coach Jody Adams returns over 37 points of scoring from last year's squad from forwards Haleigh Lankster (11.2 ppg), Chynna Turner (8.3 ppg) and Morgan Boyd (7.2 ppg). Thursday's meeting with Santa Clara will be the first ever between the two schools.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER MOUNTAIN
'JMO' became the eighth Santa Clara head women's basketball coach in April 2008. She came to the Mission Campus after serving seven seasons as the top assistant coach at Gonzaga, where she helped the Bulldogs to four-straight WCC regular season championships and one tournament crown. Her Santa Clara team ended the 2009-10 season in grand fashion at the 2010 WCC tournament in Las Vegas, winning twice to become the first No. 8 seed in tournament history to advance into the semifinals. It was the second-straight year Mountain's teams peaked when it mattered most. In her first year at Santa Clara, Mountain guided the Broncos into the WCC tournament quarterfinals. "Jen understands what Santa Clara is all about," said SCU Athletic Director Dan Coonan. "It's about competitive basketball but it's about so much more than that. Educating men and women for competence, conscience, and compassion -- that's what Santa Clara really stands for. We believe that and live that here. I think Jen is the perfect person who embodies those kinds of values."
The Jen Mountain File:
• Head Coach - Santa Clara University (2008-pres.)
• Assistant Coach- Gonzaga University (2001-08)
• Boys Head Coach - St. George's School (1994-2001)
• Amateur Player - Gonzaga University (1987-91)
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Clara played some of its best basketball of the year during a 9-0 second-half run which cut Cal State Bakersfield's double-digit lead down to three, but the Broncos couldn't completely slow down the unbeaten 'Runners at the Icardo Center, losing 66-53 Tuesday night. Santa Clara (0-4) held the 'Runners well below their season averages of 81.3 points and .455 percent shooting - pulling within three, 45-42, with 11:20 left. Alyssa Shoji and Meagan Fulps combined to score 25 of Santa Clara's 53 points.
"We slowed down and were poised," said Santa Clara head coach Jennifer Mountain, referencing the Broncos' play in the second half. "We battle enough to be in the game but make crucial mistakes. For the fourth game in a row (the opponent) had over 20 points off our turnovers. They come at bad times."
ESPN RANKS SCU RECRUITING CLASS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Next year's incoming class for the Santa Clara University women's basketball program has been ranked No. 56 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. The Broncos and third-year head coach Jennifer Mountain announced the signing of four outstanding high school players during November's early signing period last week:
Nici Gilday of San Jose, Calif. (Presentation HS)
Vanessa Leo of San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty HS)
Colleen Rooney of Centennial, Colo. (Regis Jesuit HS)
Tyler Woods of Corona, Calif. (Centennial Corona HS)
LENA GIPSON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WCC
Lena Gipson was named to the 2010-11 West Coast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. Gipson, a senior power forward from Hanford, Calif., is one of the most prolific rebounders in Santa Clara University history. She was one of ten players recognized on the team, which was released along with the preseason coaches' poll. Santa Clara was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team league. Gipson was named an All-WCC First Team player last season after averaging a double-double (12.6 ppg/10.0 rpg) and collecting 16 double-doubles on the year, which ranked No. 23 among all NCAA players.
FREE GAME BROADCASTS ON SANTACLARABRONCOS.COM
In conjunction with the West Coast Conference, Santa Clara is pleased to announce that most home games and all conference road games this season will be broadcast FREE of charge on SCU's official athletics website (SantaClaraBroncos.com). Additionally, Santa Clara's Michael Spero (play-by-play) will call selected road games, offered online as FREE audio broadcasts.
BAY AREA BRONCOS
When Jennifer Mountain was hired as Santa Clara University's women's basketball head coach in April of 2008, the program was void of a single player from a Bay Area High School. This season SCU's roster will boast four Bay Area players. All three of the Broncos' incoming freshmen starred at local high schools: sophomore transfer Lindsay Leo (Archbishop Mitty), Ricki Radanovich (Carondelet), Iman Scott (Archbishop Mitty) and Arteivia Lilomaiava (Aragon). "There is a tremendous amount of local talent and it's a crucial element to our recruiting," says Mountain. "It's going to help with the level of our program, local pride and our fan base."
SANTA CLARA WOMEN'S HOOPS ON YOUTUBE!
Check out the latest videos and features on the Broncos on the team's official YouTube page (youtube.com/scuwbb).