WATCH | Bertholdt, Parkinson Talk Texas Tech, Winning Streak
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In the middle of a five-game homestand, Santa Clara women's basketball hosts Texas Tech Saturday at 2 p.m. This will be the first matchup with a Big 12 school since the Broncos played Colorado, now a member of the Pac-12, Nov. 19, 2010. The last time the Broncos played a current member of the Big 12 was Dec. 22, 2008 vs. West Virginia when the Mountaineers were in the Big East.
Santa Clara pushed its winning streak to seven games with three victories last week over UC Santa Barbara, Simpson, and Hope International. This is the longest winning streak for the Broncos since a seven-game streak from Dec. 1, 2007- Jan. 4, 2008.
Santa Clara (7-2) is scoring 66.6 points per game while allowing the second fewest in the West Coast Conference at 56.1. The Broncos allow the lowest field goal percentage (35.1 percent) in the conference is second in rebounds (43.7), rebounds allowed (32.2), and rebounding margin (+11.4). They have averaged 13.6 steals per game, which is nearly four more than the next closest WCC team.
Morgan McGwire leads the team with 14.1 ppg and 6.7 rebounds per game. She is second in the WCC in field goal percentage at 58.1 percent (54-93). She is second to teammate Devin Hudson who is at 59.1. Hudson scored 7.6 ppg while adding 6.0 rpg. Savanna Hanson leads Santa Clara with 3.0 assists per game and is scoring 9.1 ppg to go with 3.9 rpg and 2.1 spg. Taylor Berry leads the conference with 3.2 spg and scores 7.2 ppg to go with 3.9 rpg.
Santa Clara is 1-2 all-time vs. Texas Tech with the first meeting coming in 1991-92. The last meeting was Dec. 30, 2000 when the Broncos topped the Lady Raiders 61-56 on the Mission campus.
"It is always exciting to play against a big time team from the Big 12," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "It is such a great women's basketball conference and Tech will be a contender in that league this year."
The Lady Raiders (6-1) are outscoring teams by an average of 20.4 ppg and grabbing 9.4 more rebounds. They are shooting 45.4 percent (212 of 467) from the field and 36.4 percent (48 for 132) from beyond the arc. Texas Tech's lone loss of the season was vs. Washington.
"Texas Tech is a battle-tested team," said Payne. "They have a lot of experience and some tremendous guards who can really score the ball. Interestingly, their top two scorers are from the Bay Area so it will be fun for them to be able to play in front of their families."
Five Texas Tech players average in double figures with Ivonne Cook Taylor's 16.1 leading the way. She has added 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, and 1.9 spg. Rayven Brooks leads the team with 17 threes made and is scoring 14.0 ppg to go with 3.9 apg and 4.3 rpg. Leashja Grant is tops on the Lady Raiders with 9.3 rpg and is adding 10.1 ppg. Japreece Dean (10.9) and Dayo Olabode (10.4) round out the double-digit scorers. Ryann Bowser leads the team with 4.0 apg and is scoring 8.7 ppg.
