LAS VEGAS – Santa Clara women's basketball's season came to end Thursday afternoon with a 74-63 defeat to Pepperdine in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
The Waves (10-19) used the long ball, knocking down 10 3-pointers, including five from Kim Jacobs and four from Paige Fecske.
Yasmine Robinson Bacote led all scorers with 23 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Fecske scored 20 and Jacobs added 15.
Despite trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, the Broncos (9-21) cut the deficit to 49-46 to start the fourth quarter and were within four after two free throws from Morgan McGwire at the 3:16 mark, but a 7-0 run from Pepperdine extended the lead to 68-57 and iced the game.
"We would get down all year but never gave up or stopped fighting," McGwire said. "We worked on it every day in practice. The first half wasn't the best but I'm proud of our team and our effort."
In her final game, senior Kyla Martin set a career-high with 20 points and was 8-for-11 from the free throw line. Fellow senior McGwire scored 19 on 8-for-16 shooting from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds. Also in her last game as a Bronco, Taylor Berry scored five with five rebounds.
"The first thought for me is our seniors," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "The effort they've given with their time here has been unbelievable. Their durability and ability to answer the bell is something the young players on this team need to learn from."
Santa Clara used an 11-2 run midway through the third to get within 42-36 after a 3-pointer by Charise Holloway with 4:27 on the clock. McGwire scored the first six points of the run.
A 10-1 run for Pepperdine, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Fecske, put Pepperdine up 17-8 with 3:29 to go in the first quarter.
A 3-point play earlier in the quarter gave the Waves a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
HIGHLIGHTS | Check out one big play from every quarter for the #SCUBroncos in today's @WCCSports Championship matchup against Pepperdine! FULL HIGHLIGHTS ▶️ https://t.co/zK0x31jMDZ #StampedeTogether #WCCHoops #WCCChamps pic.twitter.com/SoTa4bhG0z
— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) March 1, 2018
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 40-37 all-time against Pepperdine.
- Taylor Berry made her 104th consecutive start.
- Morgan McGwire moved into first place in games played at Santa Clara with 121 and Berry moved into a tie for second with Tracy Walker (2004-08) with 120.
- Santa Clara forced 19 turnovers and had 12 steals.
QUOTABLE
"I thought the team did a really good job of reinventing itself this year. It took some time but they kept at it. We found some things that worked. Every day, the team came to battle and was willing to do whatever we asked."
Head coach Bill Carr
VIDEO | "The effort that they've given with their time here is unbelievable" - head coach Bill Carr on the #SCUBroncos seniors. FULL PRESS CONFERENCE ▶️ https://t.co/0iNibfVqR7 @WCCSports #StampedeTogether #WCCHoops #WCCChamps pic.twitter.com/tr59RwHH8O
— Santa Clara WBB (@Santaclarawbb) March 2, 2018
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