Feb. 20, 2002
Led by senior all-West Cost Conference guards Becki Ashbaugh and Caroline Gruening, the Santa Clara University women's basketball team is ranked among the nation's best in four categories.
The Broncos are ranked 25th in scoring offense, averaging 76.0 points per game, the second highest average in the program's last 10 seasons. Santa Clara is also ranked 20th nationally in three-point field goals per game, averaging 6.8 each contest, 27th in free throw percentage, with a 74.5 percentage, and tied for 29th in three-point field goal percentage 37.1 percent.
Individually, Ashbaugh is ranked seventh in assists, averaging a league-high 6.9 per contest. Her first assist in the Broncos' next game will break the school career mark Ashbaugh currently shares with Jennifer Lucas (1986-91).
Gruening is ranked 11th in three-point field goal percentage, at 44.5 percent, hitting 53 of 119 from long distance.
Ashbaugh is also ranked in free throw percentage, as her 88.4 percent mark lists her 14th in the NCAA. Gruening would be right behind Ashbaugh with her 88.2 percent average, but falls one-tenth of a free throw short of the NCAA minimum 2.5 free throws per game to be included in the statistics.
Santa Clara returns home for the final two league contests of the season, hosting Loyola Marymount on Thursday and Pepperdine on Saturday. The Broncos put their 10-0 record at the Leavey Center on the line as they fight for a second-place finish in the conference standings.
The contest against the Lions is also "Take a Kid to the Game Night", where youth will be admitted for $2 with an adult. On Saturday, the athletic department will honor the team's two seniors, Gruening and Ashbaugh, while also celebrating Fan Appreciation Day. Game times are 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
