SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Playing the first-place team in the conference, Santa Clara women's basketball lost another heartbreaker to Gonzaga 50-49 Saturday afternoon in Leavey.
With Santa Clara (10-13, 5-7 WCC) on top 49-48 and 3.2 seconds on the clock, Gonzaga (19-4, 10-2 WCC) in-bounded the ball under the hoop to Jill Barta who led the Zags with 13 points. Lori Parkinson appeared to block her shot cleanly but the refs whistled for a foul and Barta connected on both of her attempts from the free throw line to put the Zags on top.
On the Broncos' final possession, with 2.4 seconds to go, the in-bounds pass was tipped and the clock ran down to .4 before it went out. On the ensuing play Morgan McGwire couldn't knock down the miracle shot from the baseline.
Santa Clara was able to get back in the game after being down by as much as 39-24 in the third by holding Gonzaga to just 13 points in the second half. The Bulldogs were just 4-for-28 from the field and 1-for-13 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes of action.
"In the second half we played with a little more energy once we got going and did a really good job on defense," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We held them to 13 points in the second half. I'm glad we responded after being down at the half and came out to get it going again. Barta made a good play there at the end and got us. We just have to learn to finish."
Emily Wolph scored nine of her game-high 15 in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 1:12 to go in the fourth quarter to give the Broncos their first lead since the first quarter.
Morgan McGwire grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and scored eight points while Lori Parkinson scored nine and had 10 boards.
VIDEO | Highlights from @SantaClaraWBB's Saturday afternoon tilt against Gonzaga #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos https://t.co/xsW8NXZYvS pic.twitter.com/eLe56Vt763
— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) February 5, 2017
The game started to get interesting when a 13-3 run for the Broncos ended the third and started the fourth got them within 45-41. Dru Toleafoa started things off with a triple and Wolph scored the last six on a 3-pointer and a three-point play.
Both teams had trouble shooting from distance on the day, going a combined 10-for-55. Santa Clara was just 4-for 26 and 1-for 13 in the first half.
"When the team's struggling to make shots you tell them to keep guarding and hope you can make a few at the end which we did," Carr said. "My hat's off to my team and to Gonzaga. That was a really good college basketball game."
The Broncos return to action at home Thursday at 7 p.m. vs. San Francisco.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
