SANTA CLARA, Calif. – It was only fitting that on Senior Day, a senior would lead Santa Clara women's basketball to victory.
Tia Hay, the team's leading scorer over the last two years, scored a game high 20 as the Broncos (10-17, 4-12 WCC) topped San Diego (17-10, 11-5 WCC) 78-66 Saturday afternoon in front of friends and family of the team's eight seniors.
"What a great way to send off our seniors," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "The eight of them have meant so much to this program and given a lot of blood, sweat and tears. What a game for them."
The biggest difference in the game was the Broncos field goal defense in the first half vs. the second half. After a first half where they seemingly couldn't miss and shot 62.5-percent and were 6 of 7 from deep, the Toreros didn't make their first field goal until the 4:05 mark of the third quarter and made just two in the period, going 2 of 10. In the final two quarters, San Diego shot just 29.0-percent.
The second half started with a 7-1 Santa Clara run that got them on top by three. Ashlyn Herlihy started it with a layup and also drilled a 3-pointer with Hay's steal and layup at 5:53 give the Broncos a 43-40 lead.
Later in the quarter, again led by Herlihy, the Broncos rattled off seven points in a row. Of her five points during the run, Herlihy's 3-pointer gave Santa Clara at 2:08 stretched the lead to a game high 53-43.
Herlihy finished with 17 points and added seven rebounds. Lindsey VanAllen scored 18 and was 5 of 6 from the floor and 8 of 9 from the charity stripe. Senior Emily Wolph tied her career high with seven assists while scoring eight points in her first game since joining the 1,000 points club.
A 6-0 run for the Toreros, led by four points from Leticia Soares, turned a deficit late in the second quarter to a lead at halftime. Soares layup with 30 seconds to go in the opening half made it 39-34.
Earlier in the quarter, a scoring drought of four and a half minutes by Santa Clara allowed San Diego to go on a 6-0 run and take a 33-28 lead with 3:16 left in the second quarter.
Sydney Hunter led San Diego with 16 points and was 6 of 7 from the field. Soares added 13 points and six rebounds while Jordyn Edwards scored 11. Patricia Brossmann just missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | The seniors stole the show in Saturday's senior day victory over San Diego!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/8u2KpjJs08
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) February 23, 2020
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 37-41 all-time against BYU.
- The Broncos outscored the Toreros 22-6 in points off turnovers despite the turnover battle being close at 15-13.
- Santa Clara picked up 17 assists.
UP NEXT
The Broncos head to Saint Mary's to take on the Gaels Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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