SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Tia Hay tied a season high with 25 points and Santa Clara women's basketball connected on a season best 12 3-pointers in a 76-60 win over LMU Thursday night in Leavey Center.
The Broncos (9-13, 3-8 WCC) used a big second quarter to create some space in what was otherwise an even game. They outscored the Lions (6-18, 3-9 WCC) 22-8 during the period and by just two points in the other three quarters combined.
The decisive quarter got going with 10 in a row for Santa Clara over three minutes in the second quarter got the team up by eight. Ashlyn Herlihy started the run and Merle Wiehl capped it with a layup at 5:06 to make it 31-23. In between were 3-pointers from Wiehl and Hay.
Later in the period Santa Clara rattled off an 8-0 run led by Lindsey VanAllen. She scored the first five with Herlihy connecting from deep and Hay's free throws at 1:51 stretching the lead out to 41-26.
Hay led all scorers and was 9-for-17 from the floor while going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. She also tied a career high with four steals. Herlihy was 7-for-11 from the field en route to 18 points while also grabbing six boards and Emily Wolph scored 10 with a career high-tying seven assists.
LMU started a mini comeback with a 9-2 run midway through the fourth. Ciera Ellington's layup at 4:53 cut the deficit to 10 and after a triple from Wolph, back-to-back layups made the score 67-58 with under four minutes to go but Santa Clara scored the next nine to put the game away.
Ellington scored 10 and nearly had a triple-double with nine rebounds and seven assists. Aspyn Adams and Khari Clark also added 10 a piece and Jasmine Jones scored a team high 11 with eight rebounds and five assists.
An 8-0 first quarter run for LMU, led by four points by Adams, put the Lions on top 13-8 at the 5:43 mark.
The Broncos used an 13-3 run later in the period to retake the lead. Wolph scored the final four points, with her layup at 55 seconds giving Santa Clara a 21-16 lead. LMU would score the last five, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to even the score at 21.
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | Big buckets from a big victory over Loyola Marymount!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/gXLxdd3GjZ
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) February 7, 2020
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 49-28 all-time against LMU.
- The Broncos had an 18-6 edge in points off turnovers.
- Emily Wolph was in the starting lineup for the fifth straight game and Naomi Jimenez made her third consecutive start.
- Tamia Braggs returned to action after missing the last two games with a wrist injury.
- With three blocks, Lauren Yearwood now has 107 in her career, good for fourth in Santa Clara history. Next up is Lindsey Leo (2010-13) with 113.
UP NEXT
The Broncos finish their three-game homestand with Pepperdine Saturday at 2 p.m. It will be the team's annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. Pink rally towels will be given to the first 300 fans.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram