City Rivalry Game SCU-SJSU Women Sunday at 2 p.m.

A FREE audio broadcast will be available on SantaClaraBroncos.com. Michael Spero (play-by-play) will provide the audio courtside from San Jose State. Fans can also view free live stats at SJSUSpartans.com.

Additional coverage includes audio via KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) with Marcus Gonzalez and Cole Gunnere calling the play-by-play. For a fee, live video of all SJSU's women's basketball home games can be purchased, sign up to be a Gold Zone member at SJSUSpartans.com.

GAME NOTES

• Santa Clara is led by third year head coach Jennifer Mountain
• The Broncos have won 3 of 5
• SCU is coming off a 73-65 overtime win at Cal Poly
• Santa Clara (3-10) is 1-7 on the road
• San Jose State (0-12) is still looking for its first win
• Sunday's game will be the 42nd meeting between the two local schools
• The Spartans defeated the Broncos 75-64 last year at Santa Clara
• The Spartans are being outscored by 19 points per game this season 
• Santa Clara is 3-1 in games decided by 9 points or less
• The Broncos have shot well from 3-point range in all three of their wins
• SCU was 9 of 20 from 3-point range at Cal Poly on Thursday
• Gaurds Meagan Fulps (12.4 ppg) and Alyssa Shoji (9.4 ppg) had season-high's in points at Cal Poly; Fulps (22), Shoji (19)
• Freshman Ricki Radanovich has had 3 double-figure scoring games in last 4 outings
• SJSU was edged by Mount Saint Mary's 72-69 on Wednesday
• In 12 games played this year, San Jose State has used nine different starting lineups
• UP NEXT: Santa Clara will play its WCC opener on Saturday, Jan. 8 at USF

The Broncos (3-10) have won 3 of 5 and have seemed to turn a corner after a slow start. Ten of the Broncos' 12 available players are underclassmen. Guards Meagan Fulps and Alyssa Shoji combined for 41 points and All-WCC forward Lena Gipson made a significant impact for the Broncos in their overtime win at Cal Poly Thursday night, 73-65. Third-year head coach Jennifer Mountain has inserted freshman guard Ricki Radanovich into the starting lineup in each of the last eight games. Mountain is trying to rebuild an SCU team that finished 5-27 a year ago. She expects one of the nation's best recruiting classes (ranked among Top-56 by ESPN) next year. The team's WCC opener follows Sunday's game with SJSU.

QUOTABLE

"We are taking better shots and making better choices," said SCU head coach Jennifer Mountain following the team's win at Cal Poly. "We really worked our inside-outside game nicely tonight. But again, it's our defense and it starts there, that is what we predicate ourselves on. That is where you win ball games."

"I thought we fought hard, staying mentally and physically tough, buckling-down defensively," said Meagan Fulps after Thursday's win at Cal Poly. "We got some big stops and made some big plays in overtime. This win means so much. It definitely gives us a lot of confidence, especially now going into a game Sunday that we can win. It's going to give us confidence going into conference as well."

SAN JOSE STATE

The Spartans (0-12) have yet to win this season. A near miss for SJSU came last time they played, Wednesday, December 29 against Mount Saint Mary's, a 72-69 home loss. Junior forward Brittany Johnson is the only Spartan to have started all 12 games this season as fourth-year head coach Pam DeCosta tries to tweak her starting rotation. The Spartans are in the midst of a six-game homestand with their WAC opener up next, Thursday against Louisiana Tech. SJSU was 6-23 last season and last in the WAC at 2-14.

THE SERIES WITH SJSU

San Jose State and Santa Clara women's basketball will meet for its 42nd time in the longstanding series. Santa Clara holds the edge in the all-time series 22-19. The Spartans defeated the Broncos 75-64 last year at Santa Clara.

LAST TIME OUT
Meagan Fulps and Alyssa Shoji combined for 41 points helping Santa Clara win in overtime at Cal Poly Thursday night, 73-65. Fulps scored 22 points and had a career-high eight rebounds for Santa Clara (3-10). Shoji scored 14 of her 19 points after halftime, including a pivotal three-point play in the extra session. Trailing by two in the closing moments of regulation, Cal Poly (4-7) guard Desiray Johnson banked-in the tying basket with 19 seconds left. Bronco freshman Ricki Radanovich scored the first points of overtime and baskets by Shoji and Lena Gipson assured the Broncos of the win, pulling ahead by seven with 29 seconds remaining on Gipson's mid-range jumper. Gipson, who entered the week ranked eighth nationally in rebounding, finished with 13 points and 11 boards.

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)

WCC STANDINGS (Dec. 30)
Gonzaga (11-4)
San Diego (9-4)
Pepperdine (8-5)
Portland  (9-6)
St. Mary's (8-7)
Loyola Marymount (6-8)
Santa Clara (3-10)
San Francisco (3-11)

LENA GIPSON NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Santa Clara University senior power forward Lena Gipson was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday, Dec. 20. Gipson had 22 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket with just over one minute left to lift Santa Clara past Pacific Thursday night at the Leavey Center, 52-47. Her 22 rebounds was one shy of a Santa Clara school record. The senior from Hanford, Calif. leads the WCC in rebounding and ranks among the nation's leaders. It was her third 20-rebound game of her Bronco careerShe also had 11 points Thursday to record her fifth-straight double-double.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SHINES DURING ACADEMIC FINALS
Student-athletes at Santa Clara University have a reputation for excellence on and off the playing field, but one group in particular has truly raised the bar in academics: the Bronco women's basketball team. With a collective GPA over 3.3, it's clear that the women of SCU basketball are focused and determined in their academic pursuits and with finals just wrapping up, we wanted to know just how they do it. Click here for the full article.

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)

"All four of our future Broncos fit the mold of what Santa Clara is all about.  They are extremely bright young women who value education and grasp what it means to be a Bronco both on and off the court.  They are great role models and will represent Santa Clara with respect and class at all times.  I am very excited about them joining us next year and having the chance to coach them," said Mountain.

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.

DID WE MENTION IT'S FREE?
In conjunction with the West Coast Conference, fans can watch a three-camera broadcast for every basketball home game and all conference road games this season FREE of charge on SCU's official athletics website (SantaClaraBroncos.com). Additionally, Santa Clara's Michael Spero (play-by-play) will call selected non-conference road games, also FREE.

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).

WCC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO VEGAS
The West Coast Conference will return to Las Vegas in 2011 for the Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships on March 4-7. In July 2009, the WCC and Orleans Arena announced a three-year contract extension that would keep the Basketball Championships at the Orleans Arena through 2012. The 2010 Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships was another successful tournament, selling out for the second consecutive year. This year's tournament will feature the same format as the previous two years, with a combined total of 14 men's and women's games over four days. Tickets for the event are now on-sale.