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