PORTLAND, Ore. – With 10 different players scoring, Santa Clara women's basketball cruised by Portland 56-44 Thursday night in the Pacific Northwest. It was the seventh win in a row for the Broncos over the Pilots.

Santa Clara (7-7, 2-1 WCC) began to pull away midway through the third quarter when Morgan McGwire scored six straight points. After a basket by Darian Slaga for Portland (3-11, 1-2 WCC), the Broncos went on an 8-2 run and took a 45-28 lead with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter.

McGwire led all scorers with 11 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Emily Wolph scored 10 and dished out four assists. Eight other Broncos scored at least one point to lead the balanced attack.

The Broncos scored nine straight over a minute and a half early in the fourth quarter to get their lead to a game-high 54-33. A triple by Wolph capped the run at the 7:28 mark.

Portland had one last push and finished the game on an 11-2 run as the Broncos went cold from the field and started to turn the ball over. They hit just one of their final seven field goals and had four turnovers during a scoreless final 2:26.

No Pilot scored in double figures and the team shot just 30.8 percent from the field. Julie Spencer led the way with nine points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Kaylie Van Loo scored six with had eight steals and five assists.

Santa Clara had a strong start to the game, going on a 15-3 run over eight minutes in the first quarter to get out on top 15-5. The Broncos held the lead for nearly 39 minutes.

Despite the strong start, Santa Clara hit just two of its final 11 attempts from the floor in the first half and didn't score for the final 3:05. Portland wasn't much better, going just 2 of 10 to close out the opening half.

Santa Clara is back in action Saturday vs. LMU at 2 p.m. in Leavey.

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