Bronco Women Face Dons Saturday at Leavey Center

Game Notes in PDF Format

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara looks to improve to 4-4 in West Coast Conference play when league rival USF comes to the Leavey Center on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The Broncos beat the Dons 69-50 earlier this year. 

Game Notes Week #14 - Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO @ SANTA CLARA
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011 • 2 p.m.
Game #22 • Home Game #10 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Video | Live Stats 

LIVE COVERAGE
The best place to follow all the action Saturday is on SantaClaraBroncos.com. A FREE three-camera video broadcast will be available along with FREE live scoring. Michael Spero (play-by-play) will be calling the game live, courtside from the Leavey Center.

GAME PROMOTIONS
The game between SCU and USF, two Jesuits schools, is one of more than 90 games that will be played this season as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS). The game is billed as 80's Night – fans are encouraged to dress the part! The game is also the featured event in Santa Clara's relationship with the Special Olympics of Northern California.

GAME NOTES

• Santa Clara is led by third year head coach Jennifer Mountain
• The Broncos (7-14; 3-4 WCC) finished the month of Jan. 4-4
• The Dons (4-17; 1-6 WCC) snapped a 7-game skid with a win over Pepperdine last time out
• SCU is 4-5 at home, USF is 0-8 on the road
• Saturday's game marks the 82nd meeting between the two local rivals
• The matchup is a Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) game
• Santa Clara beat USF 69-50 on Jan. 8 in San Francisco
• USF leads the all-time series 45-36
• SCU is coming off a 17-point comeback win over LMU, 77-73 and is just one game out of 3rd place in the WCC standings
• The Broncos made 8 of 16 treys and their 77 points in their win over LMU were both season-highs
• Leading scorer, sophomore Meagan Fulps is shooting 48% in WCC games (31 for 64) and 44% from 3PT range (13 of 29)
• All-WCC forward Lena Gipson ranks 18th in NCAA in rebounding (10.5), 17th in double-doubles (10)
• Gipson has posted three-straight double-doubles, including scoring a season-high with 19 points vs. LMU
• Alyssa Shoji has made 18 of 19 FT attempts (94.7 %) in WCC play and has moved into 4th all-time at SCU in 3PT FG made
• NEXT UP: SCU will play @ St. Mary's (Thursday, Feb. 10) and @ San Diego (Saturday, Feb. 12)

SANTA CLARA
The Broncos (7-14; 3-4 WCC) picked up an important win over LMU on Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak in conference play after starting the league season 2-0. One of those early WCC wins was against USF, 69-50, at War Memorial Gym in San Francisco Jan. 8. SCU head coach Jennifer Mountain saw her team shoot 50 percent (8 of 16) from long range against LMU last time out and senior power forward Lena Gipson provided her 10th double-double (points-rebs). When the Broncos shoot a higher 3-point percentage than their opponent, the team is 7-3. With the second half of WCC play beginning this weekend, the Broncos find themselves in a tie for fifth in the standings with Portland and just one game behind Pepperdine and LMU for the third spot. Four of the Broncos' seven wins this year have come in the Leavey Center.

USF
The Dons (4-17; 1-6 WCC) surprised some people around the league when they beat a red-hot Pepperdine team Saturday, 66-46. It was USF's first win over a Division I team since November and they did it convincingly over a Pepperdine team that had won 8 of 10. Outside of their win over Pepperdine, the Don's closest WCC game had been a 12-point loss to San Diego at home. First year head coach Jennifer Azzi – a recent inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame – is receiving a team-high 10.4 points per game from Kelly Jo Mullaney and 6.1 rebounds from Donnisha Taylor. Mullaney had 14 points Saturday in their win over Pepperdine and Vania Singleterry scored 15. The Dons shot 44 percent from the field, nearly 10 points higher than their season average of 35.

THE SERIES WITH USF
Santa Clara has won 9-straight vs. USF at the Leavey Center and 15 of 16 dating back to the 1996-97 season. Saturday's meeting will be the 82nd in the longstanding series, the longest in SCU history, which began in 1964. USF holds the edge in the all-time series 45-36. USF had won the last four meetings in San Francisco before Santa Clara picked up the WCC-opening win over USF 69-50 on Jan. 8.

SANTA CLARA 69, USF 50 (JAN. 8)
Santa Clara played its most complete game to-date, doing it on the road, beating league rival San Francisco at War Memorial Gym, 69-50. It was the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. Leading by nine at halftime, Lena Gipson and Alyssa Shoji scored on the first two possessions following the intermission, allowing Santa Clara to open up a 20-point lead midway through the second half. Santa Clara (5-10; 1-0 WCC) has won three straight and five of seven. USF (3-12; 0-1 WCC) got 10 points and 8 rebounds from Kelly Jo Mullaney.

"We came out with energy in both halves, defensively especially. I also thought we did a great job of being patient at both ends of the floor," said SCU head coach Jennifer Mountain. "We shared the ball really well, probably the best we have all year long. I was really impressed with the effort tonight."

Gipson was 8 of 8 from the field and finished with a game-high 17 points. Senior classmate Kathy Willinsky got her first start of the year and responded by scoring 12 points and clearing a team-best seven rebounds. The Broncos shot a season-high 54 percent (27 of 50) from the field and Shoji, Ricki Radanovich and Ashley Armstrong combined to make six 3s.

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."

WCC STANDINGS
Team - WCC - Overall
Gonzaga - 7-0 - 19-4
St. Mary's - 5-2 - 13-9
Pepperdine - 4-3 - 13-8
Loyola Marymount - 4-3 - 10-11
Portland - 3-4 - 12-10
Santa Clara - 3-4 - 7-14
San Diego - 1-6 - 11-10
San Francisco - 1-6 - 4-17

GIPSON JUST SECOND IN SCU HISTORY TO HAVE 1,000 PTS/800 REB
In 46 years of women's basketball tradition at Santa Clara, just one other player has scored 1,000 points and totaled 800 rebounds. On January 13, 2011, in a victory over San Diego, Lena Gipson reached both those career milestones on the same night, scoring a season-high 19 points, allowing SCU the victory and a 2-0 start to league play. She ranks second all-time in rebounds, rebounding average; also ranks among the program's top 10 in scoring average, field goal percentage and blocks – doing so in just two-plus seasons.

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).

FULPS, LEO FEATURED ON 'ROAD TO VEGAS' SERIES
The WCC's Road to Las Vegas is available on-demand on WCCsports.com. The Jan. 26 edition featured Santa Clara's Lindsay Leo and Meagan Fulps, in the '60 Seconds With' segment. New episodes of The Road to Las Vegas premiere Wednesdays on WCCsports.com, and can be viewed any time on-demand.

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.

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.

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 boasts 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.

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 on 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 career.

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 doubledoubles on the year, which ranked No. 23 among all NCAA players.

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.

TICKETS
Buy tickets online via (SantaClaraBroncos.com), or visit the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) or by calling directly at 408-554-4660.