WATCH | EYEBRONCO's Highlights/Postgame Interviews from the Game 1 Victory!
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Fresh off a first round win, Santa Clara women's basketball returns to the floor Fri., March 6 at 2 p.m. vs. San Diego in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Broncos topped Portland by a final of 66-58 in the opening round to move to 12-17 on the year.
"San Diego is a very well-rounded team that is in second place for a reason," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "They have players that can shoot the ball, the Defensive Player of the Year, and they rebound well. All of that is great but isn't really relevant to us. Our mission is to play our hearts out and be tougher than the other team. They are a fabulous team and it will be a great challenge."
Santa Clara is being outscored on the season by an average of 68.9-66.5 but outrebounding opponents 40.9-37.3. The Broncos are shooting 39.4% (678-1722) from the field, 29.8% (117-392) from three, and 71.6% (390-545) from the free throw line.
Nici Gilday, a First Team All-WCC selection, leads Santa Clara with 19.0 ppg on 39.2% (181-462) shooting from the field. She is tops on the team in threes made (68), attempted (191), three point percentage (35.6%), and steals per game (1.6). Gilday leads the nation in free throw shooting (94.2%) and is first in the conference in minutes per game (35.0). She adds 2.9 rpg and 1.6 apg. Marie Bertholdt leads the team with 7.4 rpg and is second in scoring with 9.9 ppg. She is shooting 48.4% (93-192) from the field and leads the team in free throws attempted (125). Raquel Avila is tops on the team with 3.6 apg while scoring 5.2 ppg and grabbing 2.3 rpg. Maddison Allen is averaging a team-high 1.2 bpg and scoring 3.9 ppg to go with 3.7 rpg.
Santa Clara is 32-35 all-time vs. San Diego and 2-4 in the WCC Tournament. The Toreros swept the regular season series from the Broncos.
San Diego is 23-5 on the season and finished second in the WCC with a 14-4 record. They finished the regular season.
The Toreros are outscoring opponents 68.1-58.9 and outrebounding teams 43.0-35.0. They are shooting 39.7% (692-1743) from the field, 34.9% (135-387) from three, and 69.5% (389-560) from the free throw line.
Malina Hood leads San Diego in scoring with 15.5 ppg and adds 1.5 apg, 1.6 spg, and 3.0 rpg. She leads the team with 77 threes made in 193 attempts. Sophia Ederaine, the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, scores 12.4 ppg with a team-best 9.9 rpg. She leads the conference with 4.8 bpg. Cori Woodward leads the team with 2.8 apg and scores 6.2 ppg as well.