Check out photos from the game! (Courtesy Denis Concordel)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On Senior Day, Santa Clara women's basketball lost to LMU by a final of 75-63. The loss puts the Broncos at 10-15 overall and 5-11 in WCC action while the Lions are now 5-23 overall and 3-14 in conference play.
Santa Clara returns to the floor Thurs., Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at Pacific.
Santa Clara shot 36.9% (24-65) from the field and 26.7% (4-15) from three. The Broncos had 39 rebounds, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, four blocks, and six steals. Emily Wolph led the offense with 15 points and our assists. Nici Gilday scored 14 while Morgan McGwire scored 13 and Marie Bertholdt grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds.
LMU shot 38.9% (21-54) from the field and 43.8% (7-16) from three. The Lions had 41 rebounds, 12 assists, 15 turnovers, one block, and eight steals. Leslie Lopez-Wood led the offense with 32 points on seven threes. Emily Ben-Jumbo added 19 points and five rebounds while Sophie Taylor scored six with eight boards.
With the Broncos on top by four, LMU came back with five straight to get out to a one-point lead. Wolph answered with a three to get Santa Clara back up 17-15. Olivia Lucero tied the score with two more free throws.
Wolph converted four straight free throws to make the score 21-17 but Lopez-Wood responded with a three. A jumper by Alyson Lock tied the game at 22.
After going back-and-forth, the teams went into the locker room with the score 34-32 LMU.
Santa Clara shot 39.3% (11-28) from the field and 33.3% (2-6) from three in the first half. The Broncos had 18 rebounds, seven assists, nine turnovers, three blocks, and three steals. Wolph led the offense with nine points. Bertholdt added six with six rebounds while Gilday and McGwire both scored five.
LMU shot 28.1% (9-32) from the field and 33.3% (3-9) from three in the first half. The Lions had 22 rebounds, five assists, seven turnovers, no blocks, and five steals. Lopez-Wood led the offense with 12 points. Ben-Jumbo and Lucero both added six points each.
Out of halftime Brooke Gallaway hit a three to give Santa Clara a one-point lead. The teams traded buckets until two jumpers in a row from Ben-Jumbo put the Lions on top 40-37 with 17:22 remaining.
Gilday got the Broncos on top by one at 15:36 with one from deep but a free throw quickly tied it. McGwire hit back-to-back short jumpers but both times LMU responded to tie the game.
With Santa Clara up one, LMU went on a 7-0 run over 53 seconds to take a six-point lead. The run ended when McGwire made a layup with 9:21 on the clock to make it a 56-52 game.
Another jumper from McGwire made it a two-point game but three-straight threes for Lopez-Wood over the next three possessions put Santa Clara down nine after all the Broncos could do was make one layup.
LMU would grow the lead out to as many as 14 by converting from the free throw line and held on for a 12-point win.
Game Notes: Attendance was 302 … Santa Clara honored Nici Gilday, Raquel Avila, Vanessa Leo, Courtney Lisowski, and Katie Hawkins before the game.