SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A fast start and a strong defensive effort for No. 24 Cal doomed Santa Clara women's basketball in a 79-41 defeat Saturday afternoon in Leavey Center.

The Bears (5-2) used their defense to lead to offense, forcing 22 Bronco (2-5) turnovers and holding a 36-9 advantage in points off turnovers. They also shot 52.7-percent from the floor and were 10-for-25 from downtown while Santa Clara shot just 31.7-percent and 1-for-8 from deep, missing its first seven attempts.

Cal started the game on a 16-0 run over the first 6:28 while knocking down its first three 3-pointers and went 5-for-8 from the field. The Broncos committed five turnovers during the stretch and missed all four shots from the field.

Kristine Angiwe led a balanced scoring attack with a game-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field. All 11 Bears that saw minutes scored with Jaelyn Brown scoring 11 and drilling three 3-pointers. Asha Thomas dished out eight assists as the Cal picked up 25 assists on 29 made field goals.

Ashlyn Herlihy battled foul trouble in the first half but still led the Broncos with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and added four rebounds. Taylor Berry grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and scored six.

NOTES

• Santa Clara is now 10-33 all-time against Cal.
• This was Santa Clara's second game against a Pac-12 opponent (USC Nov. 17) and third against a team from a Power 5 conference (at Northwestern Nov. 22).
• Cal made seven consecutive field goals in the third quarter.
• Berry made her 80th consecutive start.

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS | #SCUBroncos buckets from today's matchup with No. 24 Cal! #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/ffPYqrNKYv

— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) December 3, 2017

QUOTABLE
"When you play a team as good as Cal, you have to come out and execute the game plan with laser-like focus and have confidence. At times, we did that but they got off to a quick start and we got a little rushed and got out of our element a bit. We got it back late in the first half and got things going in the right direction. This is something we can learn from."

Head coach Bill Carr

UP NEXT
Santa Clara ends its homestand with Menlo Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

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