SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A trio of double-digit scorers, including a game-high 22 from Morgan McGwire, led Santa Clara women's basketball to a 67-57 win over Portland Thursday night at home, the Broncos 11th victory in a row over the Pilots.
McGwire finished the night with her fourth double-double behind a game-high 13 rebounds. Charise Holloway scored 14 while knocking down four 3-pointers and Taylor Berry added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Broncos (8-18, 4-11 WCC) used the three ball, knocking down a season-high nine from beyond the arc, and turned it over just nine times, tying a season-low while forcing 21 Pilots (6-20, 2-12 WCC) turnovers.
"I'm really proud of the way we handled the ball and the ball got moved around," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "It wasn't like we were just getting one on one shots, we had 19 assists as well. That means the ball was moving and they were sharing it. The beauty of this team is that no one has a selfish bone. They did it tonight without turning the ball over."
McGwire scored 13 consecutive Santa Clara points in the third quarter, including an 8-0 run of her own behind a pair of triples. Her third 3-pointer of the night with 5:33 to go in the period made it 47-35 Broncos, after the teams were tied at 31 at the break.
"We came out with some good energy and made a couple shots to give us even more energy," Carr said. "I thought our approach coming out of the half was really good and Morgan got into a nice rhythm. She let the game come to her and didn't force much."
Portland responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Kate Andersen and Maddie Mulheim that started an 8-0 run and cut the Santa Clara lead to 47-43 with 1:43 to go in the third.
Mulheim scored 12 on the night, connecting 4-of-11 from downtown.
A 6-0 run over a minute and a half in the fourth put the Broncos up double-figures but Portland was able to get back within five three times the rest of the way, with the last making it 62-57 with 35 seconds to go.
The Broncos stayed calm and scored the final five points of the game, all from the charity stripe, including four from Kyla Martin.
Martin and Dru Toleafoa chipped in nine points each.
The Pilots went on a 14-2 run over the final 3:33 of the first quarter and first minute of the second to take a 16-9 lead. Darian Slaga scored nine of her team-high 16, including an and-one at the end of the first.
An 8-1 run for Santa Clara midway through the second got the Broncos back to even. A 3-pointer from Toleafoa at 4:24 made it 22-all.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 44-30 all-time against Portland.
- Taylor Berry made her 100th consecutive start.
- Santa Clara scored over 60 points against a DI opponent for the first time since Nov. 28 vs. San Jose State (66 points).
- McGwire had her 10th double-digit rebounding game of the year and third in a row.
- The Broncos had 19 assists on 23 made baskets.
- Santa Clara collected 13 steals in the game, with Martin's five leading the way.
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | Morgan McGwire shot lights out to start the third quarter in tonight's @WCCSports victory over Portland! FULL HIGHLIGHTS ▶️ https://t.co/i30YPQ5MlP #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos #WCCSports pic.twitter.com/HduIUViQD1
— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) February 16, 2018
INTERVIEW
VIDEO | Morgan McGwire talks about #SCUBroncos 67-57 victory over @PortlandWBB on Thursday night. #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/GWkpJ1j3mJ
— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) February 16, 2018
QUOTABLE
"The theme of the game was the ball getting spread around and it was nice for everybody to see the ball go in the basket. We got good shots and for the most part and we made them."
Head coach Bill Carr
UP NEXT
The Broncos host Pacific at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
