STOCKTON, Calif. – In the second game in as many days, Santa Clara women's basketball fell to Montana State 77-50 on Saturday afternoon.
Santa Clara (2-3) went cold from the floor in the second half, shooting just 22.7 percent in the final two quarters. The Broncos finished the game shooting 33.3 percent while Montana State (3-3) was 52.6 percent from the field.
After Santa Clara cut the deficit to single-digits at 40-31 on a 3-pointer by Taylor Berry with 8:40 to go on in the third, the Broncos went cold. They didn't hit a field goal for over seven minutes and the Bobcats built their lead to 56-35, culminating with a 9-0 run before Marie Bertholdt hit one from beyond the arc.
Peyton Ferris and Riley Nordgaard led all scorers with 17 points each. Nordgaard was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc while Ferris was 7 of 9 from the field.
Bertholdt and Morgan McGwire led Santa Clara with 11 points each and Emily Wolph scored 10. Lori Parkinson grabbed 11 rebounds and scored eight points.
The Broncos also struggled with turnovers, committing 26. The Bobcats used it to their advantage and held a 33-18 advantage in points off turnovers.
The turnovers first stung Santa Clara in the second quarter when Montana State began to take control of the game. The Bobcats used an 8-0 run beginning at the 7:11 mark and forced five Santa Clara turnovers during the stretch. Oliana Squires and Delany Junkermier hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the run and put the Bobcats up 30-16 at the midway point of the period.
The Broncos were able to come back with an 8-0 run of their own at the end of the period and get within striking distance. Santa Clara got jumpers from three different players and Wolph added a pair of free throws to make it a 34-28 deficit with 46 seconds remaining in the half.
The Broncos return to the court Wednesday at 7 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara.
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