Weekly Game Notes | Live Stats
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off a huge win on the road, Santa Clara women's basketball heads to San Luis Obispo to play in the Cal Poly/ShareSLO Holiday Tournament. The Broncos will play Cal Poly Friday at 3 p.m. and Evansville Saturday at 3 p.m. On Monday, the Broncos pulled an upset at No. 13 Stanford and last Saturday topped Air Force 68-34.
Santa Clara (2-2) is averaging 57.5 points per game on 34.2% (79-of-231) shooting from the field. The Broncos are grabbing 40.5 rebounds per game and dishing out 9.3 assists per game as well. The defense has averaged 12.8 steals per game and forced 24.5 turnovers pg.
"Last night's win vs. Stanford was such a great win for our program," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne after the game. "Not only for the young ladies who battled at Maples Pavilion, but for the Broncos who came before them. It's been so rewarding to have alums reaching out and saying how proud they are of the team. We have enjoyed the victory today and tomorrow we get to work on a very good and very tough Cal Poly team."
Savanna Hanson leads the Broncos with 10.3 ppg on 41.2% (14-of-34) shooting from the field. She is adding 3.8 rpg and 2.8 spg. Devin Hudson leads the team with 6.8 rpg and is second with 9.5 ppg. Hudson is shooting a team-high 60.7% (17-of-28) from the floor. Taylor Berry averages a team-best 3.3 spg and adds 7.8 ppg with 4.0 rpg.
Santa Clara is 10-4 all-time vs. Cal Poly with the first meeting coming in the 1971-72 season. Last year the Mustangs picked up a 79-73 win at Leavey.
Cal Poly (2-2) has yet to play at home this season. Last week, the Mustangs took down West Coast Conference foe San Francisco, 62-61, and lost at Cal, 82-57.
The Mustangs are averaging 58.2 ppg on the season and shooting 36.2% (84-232) from the field. Cal Poly averages 38.0 rpg and 19.3 turnovers per game. They have been outscored on the season 254-233.
"Cal Poly is very experienced and have three players who are averaging double digits," said Payne. "They are always extremely well coached and prepared. They will be a tough road test for us."
Lisa Marie Sanchez leads the Mustangs in scoring with 12.8 ppg and is shooting an impressive 64.7% (11-17) from beyond the arc. She also leads the team with 4.0 apg and is third with 4.8 rpg. Beth Balierz (11.3 ppg) and Lynn Leaupepe (11.0 ppg) round out the trio of double-digit Cal Poly scorers. Balierz is grabbing 2.8 rpg and is tied with Sanchez with 11 threes made. Leaupepe is second on the team with 6.5 rpg. Hannah Gilbert leads the team with 11.5 rpg and is just short of averaging a double-double with 9.8 ppg.
This will be the first meeting between Santa Clara and Evansville.
The Purple Aces (1-2) started the season with a pair of losses on the road before bouncing back with a win at Cleveland State.
Evansville is averaging 71.3 ppg and shooting 38.4% (68-177) from the floor. The team grabs 34.0 rpg and commits 18.0 tpg. The Purple Aces have been outscored on the year 219-214.
"Evansville has a couple of great scorers in their backcourt and will be tough to defend," said Payne. "They are one of the most balanced teams I've seen this year and are very well coached as well. We are looking forward to a great tournament against some very stiff competition."
Sara Dickey is the Purple Aces' top scorer with 20.0 ppg with 10 threes made. She is also the team-leader in rebounds (6.0 pg), assists (3.3pg), and steals (3.0 pg). Kerri Gasper is the only other Evansville player in averaging double figures with a 12.7 ppg mark. Gasper chips in 4.7 rpg and is shooting 52.4% (11-21) from the field. Laura Friday is second on the team with 3.0 apg and is scoring 8.0 ppg.