SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Getting set to start a three-game home stand, Santa Clara women's basketball will face San Francisco at the Leavey Center on Sat., Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. in their lone game of the week. Last week Santa Clara fell at Gonzaga but bounced back with a win at Portland behind a big second half. The Broncos are now 8-14 overall and 3-10 in WCC action.
"Watching the film of our first game with San Francisco, there are a lot of things we can do better this time around," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "The most important thing is that we didn't contain penetration in any way in our first matchup. They are very athletic so we have to be able to contain. We're a team that thrives on intensity and playing hard and we were lacking in those areas."
Santa Clara is being outscored by an average of 67.7-64.7 but outrebounding opponents 42.5-38.0. They are shooting 38.0% (515-1355) from the field, 28.0% (87-311) from three, and 70.4% 3070-436) from the free throw line.
Nici Gilday leads the Broncos with 18.1 ppg on 38.8% (138-356) shooting from the field. She also leads the team in threes made (49), attempted (141), and percentage (34.8%). She is also tops in the conference from the free throw line shooting 92.5% (74-80). Gilday adds 2.8 rpg and, 1.5 apg, and 1.7 spg. Marie Bertholdt leads the way with 7.5 rpg and scores 10.0 ppg on 47.0% (71-151) shooting from the field. She also leads the team in free throws made (77) and attempted (105). Raquel Avila leads Santa Clara with 3.5 apg. She scores 4.8 ppg with 2.2 rpg and 1.3 spg. Maddison Allen scores 3.6 ppg with 3.9 rpg and leads the team with 1.3 bpg.
Santa Clara is 57-36 all-time vs. San Francisco with the first meeting coming in 1964-65. Earlier this year San Francisco won on the hilltop. It was the first lost for Santa Clara vs. the Dons in 10 games.
"Taj Winston didn't play against the first time but makes a lot happen for them," said Payne. "Proctor is also just a really tough matchup. She can shoot from the perimeter, she can post up, and is just an all around player. She's one of the best players in the league."
San Francisco is 14-10 on the season and 5-8 in the WCC. They are 5-5 on the road. The Dons had won four in a row before dropping three of their last four. Last weekend they topped Portland but fell to Gonzaga in four overtimes.
The Dons are outscoring opponents 68.5-62.0 and outrebounding teams 39.2-37.6. They are shooting 41.6% (580-1395) from the field, 30.8% (110-357) from three, and 74.8% (374-500) from the free throw line.
Taylor Proctor leads USF with 15.6 ppg on a team-best 49.0% (142-290) shooting. She also leads the team with 8.0 rpg and adds 1.9 apg. Taj Winston is scoring 11.0 ppg with 4.9 rpg. Winston is tops on the roster with 2.5 spg and adds 2.0 apg. Zhane Dikes leads San Francisco with 2.8 apg and is scoring 10.3 ppg with 5.7 rpg. She adds 1.4 spg as well. Paige Spietz averages a team-high 1.0 bpg to go with 8.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg.