SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A strong second half helped Santa Clara women's basketball finish off exhibition play Saturday with a convincing 83-68 victory against Chico State.
Emily Wolph scored a game-high 20 points and Lori Parkinson and Morgan McGwire added 16 apiece for the Broncos who shot 53 percent from the floor and had assists on 25 of their 32 made field goals.
McKena Barker scored a team-high 17 points off the bench and Michelle Townsend tallied 14 for the Wildcats who shot just 38 percent from the field.
Santa Clara exerted control in the third quarter by connecting on 7 of 14 field goal attempts while holding the Wildcats to just three baskets.
After a jumper by Townsend with 5:23 left cut the deficit to 51-46, the Broncos reeled off eight straight points sparked by Taylor Berry who nailed a 3-pointer and scored a fastbreak layup off her own steal.
Parkinson hit a layup and Bertholdt nailed a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 69-50 and Chico State never got closer than 15 the remainder of the game.
"I think in the second half we imposed our will a little bit," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We got a little better defensively, we got some open ones on the break, got through the offensive rebounds a few times and just played better."
The Wildcats, who defeated Pacific 80-76 in overtime on Sunday, connected on 17 of 19 from the free-throw line and had 35 points off the bench.
Marie Bertholdt had 10 points for the Broncos in just 23 minutes while Wolph and McGwire shared team-high honors with five assists apiece.
"Emily played really well she got us off to a good start, made some jumpers and really ran the team well," Carr said.
The Broncos led by as many as 12 points in the opening period before the Wildcats rallied. An 8-0 run by Chico State, capped by a Barker 3-pointer, cut the Santa Clara to 26-24 with 7:11 left in the second quarter.
Santa Clara slowly gained back control. Two free throws from Berry were followed by a three-point play by Wolph to build the lead to 43-32 with two minutes left in the second quarter.
The Broncos open the regular season Friday at home against Idaho State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in Leavey Center.