SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Tipping-off a four-game homestand, Santa Clara women's basketball beat Portland 68-56 Thursday evening in Leavey. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Broncos and moves their winning streak over the Pilots to eight.
After a shaky start to the game, Santa Clara (10-12, 5-6 WCC) outscored Portland (4-18, 2-9 WCC) 34-16 over the middle two quarters to take control of the game. The Pilots made a late run but the Broncos' were able to weather the storm.
It was the first time in three games Santa Clara had its regular starting five together after dealing with injuries and illness.
"It was good to have everybody back and to be back at home," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "When you get people back from injury, it takes a little while to get some rhythm so this was a chance for us to do that. Defensively I thought we were shaky early but picked it up until we were shaky again late. It's stuff we can improve on."
The Broncos started the second half on a 13-2 run to take control. Morgan McGwire scored eight of the points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 6:05 mark. The run put Santa Clara on top 44-29.
Lori Parkinson (20 points, 12 rebounds) and McGwire (17 points, 11 rebounds) both registered double-doubles to lead the offense for Santa Clara. Marie Bertholdt added 10 points and four boards.
"Those three are a handful," Carr said. "If we can get them the ball in the right spots and they go and chase rebounds, that's what we should expect every night. It was a good job by them."
VIDEO | Highlights from @SantaClaraWBB's 68-56 win over Portland on Thursday night! #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos https://t.co/1pdTy1LTDS pic.twitter.com/0cqKGXNw0D
— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) February 3, 2017
Leading scorer Emily Wolph scored eight points but was 0-for-8 from the field.
"Emily can go get hers and she's shown that but she struggled a little tonight," Carr said. "They guarded her really well. It's a good sign for our team that somebody else stepped-up. That's a good sign for now and for the future."
A 3-pointer by Holly Blades with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter sparked a 7-0 run for Portland that got the Santa Clara lead down to 52-42. The Pilots would get within 62-55 with 1:55 to go but the Broncos hit their free throws down the stretch.
Kaylie Van Loo led Portland with 19 points and added eight assists. Julie Spencer scored 12 and Blades added nine but was just 2-for-10 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Santa Clara struggled from beyond the arc, going just 4-for24 but made up the difference by dominating on the interior. The Broncos outrebounded the Pilots 42-28 while grabbing 18 offensive boards. They held a 23-6 advantage in second chance points and a 32-18 edge in points in the paint.
"That's our strength," Carr said. "If we can get on the boards and limit our turnovers and get a shot up we have a chance to go get it. I was happy with that tonight."
After a shaky start to the game, Santa Clara went on a 7-0 run early in the second quarter to take its first lead of the night at 23-21. Parkinson scored five points, including and and-one to lead the way.
The Broncos are back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. first place Gonzaga.
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