Women's Basketball Holds Off Late Run To Top Marquette 65-62

STOCKTON, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball held off a late comeback from Marquette to win 65-62 over the Golden Eagles on Friday evening on the campus of the University of the Pacific.

The Golden Eagles (4-1) turned up the pressure in the backcourt in the final four minutes of action and forced eight Bronco (2-2) turnovers. Santa Clara went the final five minutes of the game without a field goal while Marquette hit five of its final six.

After a pair of free throws from Emily Wolph put Santa Clara up 61-53 with 58 seconds to go, the he Golden Eagles scored six straight on three layups. Kyla Martin followed with two clutch free throws to make it a two-possession game.

McKayla Yentz knocked down a 3-pointer on the other end with two seconds left to get Marquette within 63-62 but Marie Bertholdt hit two more from the charity stripe with under a second to go to ice the game.

"What a great win for the program," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We got contributions from everyone that stepped on the floor and we really kept them out of transition for the most part, which was great. I'm really proud of the girls."

Wolph led Santa Clara with 17 points and hit a career-high five 3-pointers while adding five assists. Bertholdt scored 15 and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line to go with six boards.

Taylor Berry scored 12 and had a team-high seven boards while Morgan McGwire added 11 points and five rebounds.

Despite struggling against the full-court press in the final minutes, Santa Clara was able to break it for the first three and a half quarters.

"The key to beating the press was last Sunday's game against San Jose State," Carr said. "We got a little practice last week and Marquette came to us at the right time. The kids were confident against the press early but they started trapping everything late and we got a little scattered."

Allazia Blockton led all scorers with 24 points on 7 of 19 shooting from the floor and 10 of 12 from the free throw line. Erika Davenport had her fifth double-double in five games this season with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Marquette entered the game averaging 85.0 points per game but was held to its lowest offensive output in 10 games, dating back to last season. The Golden Eagles had already beaten No. 18 Arizona State and No. 15 Oregon State this season.

"We told the group that we weren't going to win the game in the 80's or 90's," Carr said. "We guarded tonight. We did a really nice job on some of their key players. You're never going to shut anybody out but I thought we had them off rhythm. Our girls did a really nice job."

The Broncos strong defense was most apparent midway through the third. The Golden Eagles went cold from the floor and didn't hit a field goal for four and a half minutes. Santa Clara used the opportunity to build its lead to a game-high 41-28 with two and a half minutes left in the period.

The Broncos return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. vs. Montana State in Stockton.

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram