SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Emily Wolph's career-high 27 points wasn't enough for Santa Clara women's basketball in the season-opener as the Broncos fell to Cal State Fullerton 73-69 Saturday night in Leavey.
The Titans (1-0) won the game on the glass, outrebounding the Broncos (0-1) 42-28 and pulled down 19 offensive boards. The edge allowed them to outscore Santa Clara 21-9 in second chance points.
After Fullerton battled back to tie the score at 59, Hannah Thompson knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Titans a 65-59 lead with just 2:24 left in the fourth quarter. Santa Clara was unable to get the game even the rest of the way thanks to the Titans going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch.
The Broncos were hurt by a stretch of over seven minutes in the fourth where they didn't make a field goal. During that time, Fullerton went from down four to on top 65-61.
H. Thompson and Tirann Thompson both scored 18 for Fullerton with H. Thompson going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and T. Thompson was 9-for-12 from the free throw line. China Henderson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Santa Clara outscored Fullerton 29-12 in third quarter to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 53-45 lead and the end of the period. Wolph was on fire in the period, scoring 14 points and hitting three from deep.
Wolph finished 7-for-13 from the field and 5-for-7 from downtown while Taylor Berry scored 14 and had three steals. Morgan McGwire and Kyla Martin both scored 11 with McGwire pulling down eight rebounds and Martin collecting five steals.
A pair of runs by Fullerton in the second quarter, one 8-0 and one 9-0, gave the Titans a 33-24 lead going into halftime.
The Titans used an 8-0 run over two minutes in the second quarter to get on top 23-17. Emily Wolph ended the run and scoring drought of two and a half minutes for Santa Clara with a 3-pointer.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 3-6 all-time against Cal State Fullerton.
- The Broncos shot 46.2-percent from the field and 45.5-percent from beyond the arc.
- Santa Clara forced 20 turnovers with 16 steals and scored 22 points off turnovers.
- The Broncos had 13 assists on 24 made baskets.
- Kyla Martin tied her career-high with five steals.
- Ashlyn Herlihy scored two points with three rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes in her collegiate debut.
QUOTABLE
"Give Fullerton all the credit. They played hard and didn't deviate from their plan through the ups-and-downs of the game. Going forward we need to play more as a team and be a little smarter. We need to our jobs more consistently. We'll get there."
Head coach Bill Carr
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The Broncos stay home to face UC Santa Barbara Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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