SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In a back-and-forth affair, Santa Clara women's basketball lost a heartbreaker to San Diego 57-56 Thursday night in Leavey despite a big night from reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Week Lori Parkinson.
Needing a 3-pointer to force overtime, the Broncos (8-8, 3-2 WCC) inbounded from the sideline with 1.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Parkinson got the pass and took two dribbles before putting up a shot that went in but her toe was over the line making it a 2-pointer.
"Tonight was another one-possession conference game against a really good, physical team that came in here and played well," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We have to play with a little more urgency and a little bit more toughness in this conference. We're going to be in one-possession games all season and we just came out on the wrong side tonight."
Parkinson led all-scorers with 20 points on 9 of 18 shooting and added eight rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
"Lori put up numbers again," Carr said. "She puts us on her back when it's crunch-time. We just have to make some extra plays in order to win these games."
With the score tied 54-all, Patricia Brossmann made a layup to put San Diego (8-7, 2-3 WCC) up 56-54 with 1:34 to go. Santa Clara had a good chance on the ensuing possession but couldn't convert and were forced to foul. Brossmann connected on one of two from the line to set up the final sequence.
VIDEO | @SantaClaraWBB highlights from tonight's WCC matchup with San Diego #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos https://t.co/GXJwO6QnSA pic.twitter.com/WMEmgpSc30
— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) January 13, 2017
Katherine Hamilton led the Toreros with 13 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Brossmann was a perfect 3 of 3 from the field while Cori Woodward, Sydney Williams, and Aubrey Ward-El each scored nine.
In the third quarter, Parkinson started to take the game over for Santa Clara. She scored 10-straight points over three and a half minutes to help the Broncos get within 42-38 at the 2:46 mark.
Santa Clara started the second half just 1 of 5 from the field while San Diego was 3 of 5 and hit five free throws in the first five minutes of action to get on top 40-30. The Broncos came back with a 16-6 run to end the third and start the fourth. Marie Bertholdt's layup with nine minutes to go knotted the score at 46-all.
"We started to get into a rhythm in the second half," Carr said. "It's a 40-mminute game and the girls never panic. We also started to guard a little better but we struggled around the rim a bit. Credit to San Diego. They're physical and make it hard on you."
The Toreros used a 12-2 run spanning the end of the first quarter and start of the second to get their lead to 21-13. The lone bucket for the Broncos was a layup by Bertholdt on Santa Clara's final possession of the first period.
The Broncos are back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Pepperdine.
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