Nov. 5, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Junior guard Quinn Thomas led four players in double points, with 19, but it wasn't enough as the Santa Clara University women's basketball team fell to the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am 91-74 tonight at the Leavey Center in an exhibition contest.
Danielle Golay scored 17 points in the first half-en route to a game-high 28-but the Broncos held on to a 40-36 lead at intermission.
Santa Clara led by as much as 14 midway through the first period, 29-15 on a free throw by Ashley Gonnerman. Golay halved that in a three-minute span to put the Pro-Am back in the contest.
Two quick Pro-Am baskets to start the second half tied the game, but one of Thomas' four threes on the night restored the Bronco lead. The teams traded leads again, and a jumper by Golay with 12:52 remaining put the opponents ahead for the rest of the evening.
The Pro-Am shot 50.7 percent from the field, out-shooting the Broncos, who finished with a .385 mark.
Junior transfer Michelle Cozad scored 13 points in her Bronco debut, while seniors Jennie Rondel and Whitney Sutak posted 11 and 10, respectively. Head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson used her entire available lineup, introducing seven new faces to the Santa Clara community.
The Pro-Am's Crystal Miles-Threatt and Golay lead all rebounders with five each, as the Broncos were out-rebounded by a 24-12 margin. Thomas added two blocks for the Broncos to complement her offensive performance.
Vilma Tamuleviciute and Krista Knapp added 16 points each for the opponents, while Dora Dome also reached double figures in scoring, posting 11.
Santa Clara will play another exhibition game next week, against Team Concept at the Leavey Center next Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The Broncos will then open the regular season at home against 2003 NCAA Tournament participant UW-Green Bay on Sunday, November 23 at 2 p.m. Bento-Jackson will then take her squad to Stockton for a Tuesday, November 25 game at Pacific, and then return home for a Friday, November 28 contest vs. 11th-ranked Georgia.
