SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Jose State overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to stun Santa Clara women's basketball in the Leavey Center on Tuesday night 71-66 in overtime.
A 3-pointer from Myzhanique Ladd with 2:17 to go in the fourth quarter tied the game at 61-all. It was the first time the Broncos (2-4) hadn't held a lead since the opening possession of the game.
The Spartans (2-4) then scored the first five points of overtime for their first lead on the night and held on with five straight later in the period.
Ladd scored a team-high tying 14 points with a team-best nine rebounds and six assists. Cydni Lewis scored 14 as well and grabbed eight boards.
Santa Clara dominated the first half but the game started to turn when a 10-0 run for San Jose State over three minutes got the Spartans within 57-55 at the 5:43 mark of the fourth quarter. Lewis hit back-to-back layups and Danae Marquez and Megan Anderson both hit triples. The Broncos scoreless drought lasted nearly five minutes and they went 0-for-7 from the field during the stretch.
The night began with a 15-4 run for Santa Clara. The Broncos then used a 13-2 run over three and a half minutes late in the first quarter to get on top 28-9. The run was capped by a 3-pointer from Ashlyn Herlihy sandwiched between a pair of layups from Morgan McGwire.
Herlihy finished with a career-high 23 points and missed a double-double by one rebound, also a career-high. McGwire scored season-high 22 and also grabbed nine rebounds. Taylor Berry scored 11 with seven rebounds and Kyla Martin added eight assists.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 28-25 all-time against San Jose State.
- It was the first overtime game of the season for the Broncos.
- Ashlyn Herlihy and Morgan McGwire each scored 16 points and went a combined 14-for-17 from the field in the first half. Herlihy drilled four 3-pointers in as many attempts and McGwire was 8-for-8 from inside the arc.
- McGwire didn't miss her first 2-point shot until her 11th attempt with 1:10 to go in the third quarter.
- The Broncos had 23 assists on 27 made baskets.
QUOTABLE
"It was absolutely a tale of two halves. Credit San Jose State for finishing the job. They got on a little bit of a roll and made plays at the end and we didn't. I thought Ashlyn gave us a great lift. She shot the ball well. She battled on the boards and played hard. But the bottom line is you have to finish and we didn't do that."
Head coach Bill Carr
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | Take a look at these plays from tonight's contest! #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/BP9YYvaPoM
— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) November 29, 2017
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