Weekly game notes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Continuing conference play and looking to get back in the win column, Santa Clara women's basketball will travel to San Diego to take on the Toreros on Thur., Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. The Broncos enter the week with an overall record of 12-8 and a 4-3 mark in the West Coast Conference.

The Broncos fell to Saint Mary's 56-50 on Jan. 24 and Portland 71-68 on Jan. 26. They are currently a half game behind San Diego for fourth place in the WCC. 

Santa Clara is 32-29 all-time vs. San Diego and 13-19 on the road. Last year the Broncos fell 56-50 to USD on the road. 

"I think we have an advantage inside," said Bronco head coach Jennifer Mountain. "They're going to have a very hard time guarding us because we have a size advantage. I think our shot blocking abilities might cause a little bit of trouble for them. We have to keep them off the boards though. They're very disciplined and wait for you to break down so if we play great position defense I think we're going to have a good chance."

As a team, Santa Clara is shooting .401 (460-1148) from the field and .319 (106-332) from deep. The Broncos are led on offense by Ricki Radanovich who averages a team-high 11.6 points per game on .372 (80-215) shooting from the field. Radanovich has made a team- and conference-best 49 threes in 141 attempts, good for a .348 shooting percentage and is 10^th in the WCC in scoring. Meagan Fulps is second on the team with 11.1 ppg while grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game. Lindsay Leo leads the team with 7.3 rpg, sixth in the conference, and scores 9.6 ppg on .418 (66-158) shooting from the field. Leo leads the team in free throw percentage with a .833 (40-48) mark. Ruta Zurauskyte scores 10.0 ppg and leads the team by shooting .510 (79-155) from the field. Her .510 mark is good for fifth in the conference. She also pulls down 7.1 rpg. Nici Gilday leads the team with 2.9 assists per game and averages 4.1 rpg and 7.7 ppg coming off of the bench.

San Diego enters the game with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference play. The Toreros are 8-4 on their home court. The Toreros have beaten San Jose State, Long Beach State and Saint Mary's this season while falling at Arizona State, vs. San Diego State and twice to Gonzaga. Against common opponents USD is 7-2 while Santa Clara is 6-3.

"They will run their offense," said Mountain. "They use a lot of cuts, a lot of back-screens and they're disciplined and strong. Their guards can get themselves into the paint and make a mid-range jumper. That and offensive rebounds are what they've lived on. They also play really, really hard."

The Toreros shoot .445 (541-1215) from the field which is tops in the WCC. Their 68.7 ppg also leads the conference. Amy Kame leads the roster with 17.2 ppg, second in the conference, on .423 (119-281) shooting. She also pulls down 5.3 rpg and has 3.9 apg. Katelyn McDaniel is second on the team in scoring at 9.6 ppg and averages 6.6 rpg, mostly coming off the bench. Maya Hood leads the team in shooting percentage at .545 (84-154) while scoring 9.5 ppg and pulling down 4.1 rpg. Klara Wischer leads the team with 7.6 rpg and scores 7.1 ppg on .423 (63-149) shooting. Alysse Barlow leads USD with 15 made threes on 42 attempts and scores 6.0 ppg.

"Amy Kame does a great job of penetrating to the lane," said Mountain. "Most of the points she is producing are mid-range jumpers or when she can get to the rim. We need to do a great job of keeping her out of the paint. We're going to put [Raquel Avila] on her to start and we have to limit her attempts at the rim. If we do that and make her take difficult shots then we'll be in great shape."