Women's Basketball Remains Perfect With Win Over San Diego State

Women's Basketball Remains Perfect With Win Over San Diego State

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball remained perfect on the year with a 60-43 win over San Diego State Tuesday afternoon to wrap-up a three-game homestand.

The Broncos (3-0) never trailed, taking the lead for good at the 3:56 mark in the first quarter, and used a balanced offensive attack and strong defense to hold the Aztecs (1-1) at bay.

A 3-pointer by Emily Wolph at 2:19 in the first capped a 7-0 run over a minute and a half to put Santa Clara up 15-8, a lead it would never relinquish.

Lexie Pritchard led Santa Clara with 10 points but Tia Hay, Joeseta Fatuesi, and Naomi Jimenez each scored eight with three others scoring as well. Jimenez was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and added five boards as well.

"I thought Naomi was really aggressive tonight," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "She found her spots to drive and did a good job on the boards. She leads us on the defensive end but tonight was a good example of our balance. We only had one in double-figures but everybody made a contribution out there."

Lauren Yearwood grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and added six blocks, giving her 14 in the last two games. Yearwood and Emily Wolph also contributed with four assists apiece.

"Lauren is sneaky long and it puts pressure on them because if they do get by our guards, they're running into her and Erica and Joe. She was a difference maker today," Carr said.

San Diego State was held to just 27-percent shooting from the field and managed just six assists on the day.

"I don't know if we let them get into any rhythm tonight, which is good," Carr said. "When they did have some open shots, we flew at them. The shots that they did get weren't ones that were going to kill us."

Tea Adams led the Aztecs with 10 points and six rebounds. Mallory Adams added nine points and Sophia Ramos added eight.

The Broncos closed the half on an 8-2 run behind four points from Hay, including a nice layup on the final Santa Clara possession of the half, to take a 31-21 lead into the locker room, and create some distance that held up the rest of the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

NOTES

  • Santa Clara is now 4-1 all-time against San Diego State.
  • The Broncos used the same starting five for the third game in a row (Wolph, Hay, Jimenez, Herlihy, Yearwood)
  • This is the Broncos first 3-0 start since 1999-2000 when they began the year 9-0 and made the WNIT with a record of 21-9.
  • Santa Clara has held San Diego State to a combined 81 points in two games over the last two years.
  • The Broncos had 17 assists on 24 made baskets and outscored San Diego State 30-14 in bench points.

UP NEXT
The Broncos head out on the road for the first time this season and travel to USC for a Saturday game at 2 p.m.

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