Dec. 13, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Redshirt freshman Rhianna Faithfull scored a career-high 13 points Saturday afternoon as the Santa Clara women's basketball team fell, 73-53, to Utah at the Huntsman Center. With the loss, the Broncos dropped to 1-9 on the season, while the Utes improved to 4-4.
Sophomore Lena Gipson notched her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior Elizabeth Doran tallied 12 points for her fifth-straight double-figure scoring performance.
For Utah, Morgan Warburton led the game with 20 points, while Kalee Whipple added 17 and Katie King went 10-for-10 from the free throw line to chip In 12 points. On the boards, Halie Sawyer tied the game-high 11 rebounds.
The Utes outshot the Broncos from the free throw line, 26-7, while SCU led from behind the arc, 8-5.
Utah scored the first basket two minutes in but a three-pointer by Doran gave the Broncos a one-point edge, 3-2. Faithfull knocked down her own trey to give SCU a 6-2 lead with 16:32 on the clock. However, Utah utilized free shots to chip away at the lead. Kalee Whipple and Morgan Warburton each made a pair to make the score 8-2. Gipson responded to put the Broncos back up by four, 10-6, with 14:39 remaining. Santa Clara then claimed its largest lead of the half, 12-6, off a fastbreak from Sara Majors. But it was still early in the half and the Utes reclaimed the lead on a 7-0 run that started with a three-pointer by Warburton and ended on free throws from Warburton at 11:01.
Utah took that 7-0 rally and extended it to an 18-2 run to take a 10-point advantage over Santa Clara, 24-14, with 6:57 left. Yet, the Broncos did not back down. Starting with a back-to-back jumpers from Kathy Willinsky and a three-pointers from Faithfull and Doran, the Broncos tied the score 24-24 with 4:33 left in the half. Majors gave SCU back the lead, 26-24, on a layup but Warburton matched her play to knot the score, 26-26. Utah produced another 7-0 run to end the half with a buzzer beating layup from Halie Sawyer, 33-26.
The Broncos were able to keep the score within 10 points for the first five minutes of the second half. Gipson scored a jumper to make it a five-point game, 33-28. But an 18-0 run that began at 15:29 and ended at 10:15 put Utah up by 20 points, 55-35. Santa Clara tried to close the gap with points from Faithfull and Doran but Utah jumped to a 24-point lead, 72-48, with 2:33 remaining. A three-pointer from Doran and free shots made by Alyssa Shoji, brought the game to its final score, 73-53.
The Broncos return home to host three games before the Holiday break. Santa Clara battles Nevada on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m., Boise State on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. and West Virginia on Monday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. All games will be held at the Leavey Center.
