MORAGA, Calif. – Megan McKay scored a game-high 20 and Santa Clara women's basketball shot a season-low 27.4-percent from the field to lift Saint Mary's to a 59-46 victory Thursday night.

The Gaels (11-5, 4-1 WCC) entered the night as the most efficient offensive team in the West Coast Conference, shooting 47.8-percent from the floor as a team but were held to just 34.6-percent in the first half before going 9-for-10 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the third quarter. They finished the night with a 50.0-percent mark from the field.

No Gael other than McKay, who was 9-for-10 from the floor, scored in double-figures but Saint Mary's got points from seven others to lead a balanced offensive attack.

The Broncos (5-11, 1-4 WCC) held a 23-22 lead at the halftime break and led for over 19 minutes in the first half without trailing but couldn't find any rhythm on offense the whole night.

A pair of free throws from Taylor Berry at the 8:02 mark of the fourth got the Santa Clara deficit down to single-digits but Saint Mary's responded with a 6-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to get up 55-40.

Morgan McGwire and Dru Toleafoa both scored 12 points but went a combined 9-for-33 from the field. Berry had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds with McGwire adding nine boards as well.

Saint Mary's began to pull away with a 15-2 run over the final 5:16 of the third and got 3-pointers from Madeline Holland, Emily Codding, and Katie Rathbun.

NOTES

• Santa Clara is now 35-38 all-time against Saint Mary's.
• Taylor Berry made her 90th consecutive start.
• Santa Clara committed a season-low nine turnovers. The previous low was 13 vs. Menlo on Dec. 10.
• The Broncos forced 17 turnovers and collected nine steals.
• Santa Clara went 9-for-11 from the free throw line while Saint Mary's was just 5-for-10.

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHT | Charise Holloway's hustle leads to a Morgan McGwire bucket for the #SCUBroncos in last night's contest at Saint Mary's! FULL HIGHLIGHTS ▶️ https://t.co/bnvsesNzYZ #StampedeTogether #WCCHoops #TopPlayTuesday pic.twitter.com/bzIIGRWwEH

— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) January 13, 2018

UP NEXT
Santa Clara concludes its three-game road swing Saturday at 1 p.m. Pacific at BYU.

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