PORTLAND, Ore. – The trio of Tia Hay, Emily Wolph, and Ashlyn Herlihy led Santa Clara women's basketball to a 72-66 road victory against Portland Thursday night.
The three Broncos (10-9, 3-5 WCC) accounted for 61 of the team's points with Hay's 22 leading the charge. As a team, Santa Clara shot 45.8-percent from the floor and knocked down a season-high 12 3-pointers.
The Pilots (9-10, 1-7 WCC) looked like they had pulled away early in the fourth quarter when Haylee Andrews' layup made it 53-40 but the Broncos came back with a 17-2 run to get on top by two. Hay scored 10 during the run, including a pair of triples, with her layup at 5:32 making it 57-55.
Portland answered to briefly retake the lead but Wolph knocked down back-to-back triples to put her team up for good at 65-62 with 1:45 on the clock.
The lead was again cut to two on a pair of free throws from Darian Slaga with 15 seconds left but Santa Clara knocked down four from the charity stripe to ice the game.
"We showed some guts down the stretch in the fourth quarter," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We made some big shots and were able to get a few stops when we needed them."
Hay finished the night 9-for-19 from the field with five assists with Wolph scoring a season-high 20 on 7-for-12 shooting and going an impressive 5-for-10 from downtown. Herlihy registered a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The game was back-and-forth until Portland began a 15-0 run to close out the third quarter and begin the fourth. Slaga led the way with six points and Matz added five as well.
Julie Spencer led all scorers with 25 on 11-for-19 shooting with eight rebounds while Slaga scored 16 with six assists and five rebounds and Andrews added 10 points.
Santa Clara closed the first half on an 8-0 run over the final 1:39 to take a 29-27 lead into the locker room. Wolph and Herlihy both knocked down triples during the run with Herlihy's coming in the final seconds.
Wolph, who returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the last two games, got the Bronco offense going with their first five points to spark a 9-0 run that saw a 5-0 deficit turn into a 9-5 lead at the 5:46 mark of the first quarter.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 45-30 all-time against Portland and has won 11 in a row against the Pilots.
- The Broncos held a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers. They forced 16 in the game with nine steals.
- Lauren Yearwood had one block to get her season total to 47. She is currently tied for fifth on the single-season Santa Clara list Annie Garrison (2000-01).
UP NEXT
The Broncos head to No. 18 Gonzaga Saturday with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram