SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Closing out a three-game homestand, Santa Clara women's basketball came out strong and beat Pepperdine 61-40 Saturday afternoon. The win keeps the Broncos with a share of the lead in the West Coast Conference standings.
Santa Clara (9-8, 4-2 WCC) held a 44-31 advantage on the glass and held the Waves (5-12, 3-3 WCC) to just 23.5 percent shooting from the floor. The Broncos also forced 27 turnovers and turned them into 19 points.
"The team was really energetic on defense today," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "They were helping each other and trying to get tips. We made it hard on them out there. Pepperdine is a good team that shoots well and drives well. Our group was ready for that and I'm proud of them."
Over seven and a half minutes to close out the first quarter and start the second, Santa Clara went on a 17-2 run to seemingly put the game out of reach. The Broncos got five points from Marie Bertholdt during the run, including a triple, and four points each from three other players. The run gave the Broncos a 29-9 lead with five minutes left in the opening half.
Bertholdt led all scorers with 18 points and hit a career-high four from beyond the arc. Morgan McGwire had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while adding two blocks and two steals. Lori Parkinson scored 11 and grabbed eight boards with three steals.
"Marie shot the ball great today," Carr said. "She gives us great leadership on the floor. Her and Lori are the seniors and they give us great senior leadership every day. That's a big commodity for us."
VIDEO | @SantaClaraWBB's Marie Bertholdt talks defense/crowd following Saturday's win! #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos https://t.co/Itr1JCIVpc pic.twitter.com/4Ub9lOnil8
— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) January 15, 2017
A 10-0 run by the Broncos in the first quarter put them on top for good. Bertholdt hit back-to-back triples and Kyla Martin added one of her own to lead the way. The Waves went nearly four minutes without a point during the stretch.
"The group was on their toes right from the start," Carr said. "They had some urgency about them and were flying around on the defensive end. We made it hard for Pepperdine to get good looks at the basket. It was a good start for us."
Six consecutive misses for Santa Clara allowed Pepperdine to go in a 6-0 run and get the deficit down to 38-26 with 5:34 to go in the third quarter. The Broncos went four and a half minutes without scoring.
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote was the only Wave in double-figures with 13 points. She added eight rebounds as well.
Santa Clara kicks-off a four-game road trip Thursday at 6 p.m. at Gonzaga.
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