March 3, 2005
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara's Chandice Cronk scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Broncos (15-13 overall, 8-6 WCC) to a 90-49 win over San Francisco (12-16 overall, 6-8 WCC) in the opening round of the WCC Championships at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University Thursday night. The Broncos took a 50-20 lead into the locker room at half and never looked back.
Several WCC Championship records fell in the game between the two Bay Area rivals. Cronk tied the record for highest field goal percentage in a single game by hitting 87.5% (7-for-8) of her shots, while also tying the record for highest 3-pt field goal percentage in a game (100%, 4-for-4), and highest free-throw percentage in a single game (100%, 4-for-4).
Santa Clara broke the WCC Championships record for most points scored in a single game with 90 points, the largest margin of victory at 41 points, and the most three's in a game with 14.
Santa Clara's intensity on the defensive side of the court resulted in easy transition baskets at the beginning of the game that forced San Francisco to call an early time-out. The Broncos opened the game on an 8-2 run and did not slow down as they held a 30-point lead at the half.
Cronk led the Broncos in the first half with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the line. Junior Michelle Cozad chipped in 10 first half points for SCU, finishing with 12. As a team, Santa Clara was 8-for-11 from three in the first half and 14-for-25 in the game.
Freshman LaShaunte Stephens provided a spark off the bench for San Francisco as she led the Dons with seven points in the first half, but USF shot just 17.6% from the field as a team. Stephens finished with a team-high 18 points for the Dons.
San Francisco senior Toni Russell went down hard driving to the basket with 5:15 left in the first half with the Bronco's leading 39-17, but returned to the game later in the half.
Santa Clara moves on to face Loyola Marymount in the second round of the championships on Saturday, March 5 at approximately 2:00 pm. The match-up will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first semi-final between Gonzaga and the winner of the Saint Mary's vs. Pepperdine game.