SAN DIEGO, Calif. – In a game with big implications atop the West Coast Conference standings, Santa Clara women's basketball took down San Diego 61-47 on Thursday night. It was the seventh win in a row for the Broncos and puts them just a half game out of second place.

The win snaps a 10-game losing streak against the Toreros. The last time the Broncos were able to Beat San Diego was a 62-57 home win on Jan. 13, 2011. The last road win was 67-63 on Jan. 28, 2006.

Santa Clara pulled away toward the end of the third quarter and finished the period by scoring six straight points, four from the charity stripe. After hitting two more free throws to start the fourth, the Broncos were on top 47-36.

After a quick 6-0 San Diego run, the Broncos closed out the game by hitting seven free throws in the final 1:30. San Diego was unable to score after a layup and missed its final eight shots from the field.

Santa Clara (19-5, 10-3 WCC) made better use of their second chances, outscoring the Toreros 19-10 in second chance points. The Broncos also forced 17 turnovers and picked up 10 steals.

"We are thrilled with tonight's performance on so many levels," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "We talked all week about how important rebounding was, so to win the rebounding battle was a huge success for us."

Devin Hudson led Santa Clara with a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). Lori Parkinson scored 10 with six rebounds while Savanna Hanson scored nine and had four steals.

San Diego (21-4, 11-3 WCC) struggled from beyond the arc, going just 2 of 21 and was just 9 of 17 from the free throw line.

The Toreros got a double-double from Maya Hood who scored 11 with 13 boards. Malina Hood, who is second in the WCC with 18.9 ppg, scored just seven.

"USD has some of the most talented guards in our conference so it was essential to know where they were at all times," said Payne. "Being able to contest everything on the perimeter was such a huge factor tonight."

The Toreros led for most of the first quarter but an 8-0 run for Santa Clara over two minutes put the Broncos on top 16-12 with 1:15 to go in the period. San Diego was never able to pull even again.

Santa Clara returns to action Saturday at BYU at 11 a.m. Pacific.