SPOKANE, Wash. – Santa Clara women's basketball fell at Gonzaga 53-44 on Saturday afternoon to end its 12 game winning streak.

The 12 consecutive victories tied the program mark set during the 1990-91 season when the Broncos would go on to win 28 games and the WNIT.

The 12-2 start was also tied with 2001-02 for the best start in team history.

Santa Clara (12-3, 3-1 WCC) struggled from the floor all day, shooting just 22 percent (12 of 54). Lori Parkinson led the team with 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Marie Bertholdt scored seven and led all players with 10 boards.

Gonzaga is one of the better defensive teams that we've seen this season so I wasn't surprised that the game was low-scoring," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "In the WCC, every game is going to be a battle and today was no different. We played extremely hard and won the rebound battle, which I'm very proud of."

After getting within 53-44 with 5:16 to go in the game, the Broncos missed their final nine shots, including seven from beyond the arc.

Despite the misses Santa Clara still had a chance because Gonzaga didn't score for the final 6:45. The Broncos struggled to corral rebounds off Bulldog misses, however, and allowed the Zags to collect four offensive boards in the final three minutes of the game.

Gonzaga (12-4, 4-0 WCC) shot 35.2 percent (19 of 54) from the field. Georgia Stirton led all scorers with 13 points. Chelsea Walters led the Bulldogs with eight boards and hit two 3-pointers.

The tough shooting started with the opening whistle as Santa Clara went just 1 of 10 from the field in the opening period. The poor shooting allowed Gonzaga to take an early lead, one they would never relinquish.

The Broncos were able to get the deficit as low as 27-23 with a 6-0 run over three minutes in the second quarter but the Zags scored five points in the final minute of the half to regain the momentum.

Santa Clara returns to action Thursday at 6 p.m. vs. BYU.