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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Under first-year head coach Bill Carr, Santa Clara women's basketball opened practice this week. The Broncos look to build on their tremendous 2015-16 season that saw them make the postseason for the first time in 10 years.

Last season Santa Clara won 23 games, the most since 1997-98 when the Broncos won the same number and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished in a tie for third last season in the WCC, the No. 8 RPI conference in the country, and tied a program record with 13 conference wins. The only other time Santa Clara had won 13 league games was in 1990-91 when the Broncos won the conference.

"This is the best time of year," Carr said. "The staff and I are excited to get on the floor with this team and start practice. We have a squad that has experience and yet still has an eagerness to learn and get better. The upperclassmen have played in big games and the youngsters are a talented group with a ton of potential. It will be fun to see how they come together as we move along through the season."

The Broncos have five new faces in freshmen Carleigh Patrick, Ruobing Bai, Naomi Jimenez, Ashlyn Herlihy, and Tamia Braggs. They will also have redshirt freshman Nicole Vander Helm who missed last year due to injury.

Marie Bertholdt and Lori Parkinson look to provide a veteran presence with so many new players. Both players were 2016 First Team All-WCC selections.

Parkinson led Santa Clara in scoring with 11.6 ppg and was second with 6.5 rpg. She also led the team with 31 blocks and finished second with 70 steals.

Bertholdt led the Broncos in rebounding with 6.7 per game and was second with 11.3 ppg. She shot a team-best 78.8 percent from the free throw line while leading the team in makes (130) and attempts (165).

The Broncos also welcome back Morgan McGwire who averaged 10.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg and Taylor Berry who was fourth in the WCC a year ago with 2.3 steals per game.

Santa Clara finished last season No. 2 in the nation with 12.6 spg and No. 4 with 403 total steals. They were also No. 6 nationally with 21.7 turnovers forced per game.

After such a strong season and with so many people returning, Santa Clara was named No. 41 in the country and No. 1 in the West Coast Conference by CollegeSportsMadness.

Fans first chance to see the team will be Nov. 2 at Leavey in an exhibition against against Notre Dame de Namur at 7 p.m. The Broncos also play Chico State Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. in the final exhibition.

The regular season kicks-off Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. as Santa Clara hosts Idaho State. West Coast Conference action starts Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. vs. BYU.

Fans can purchase season, single game, or group tickets beginning next week. Click here to go to the women's basketball ticket page.

For questions, please contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu.

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