Nov. 27, 2004
HONOLULU - The Santa Clara University women's basketball team fell to No. 14 Michigan State 81-59 in semifinal action at the 26th-annual Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic. Forward Ashley Gonnerman and guard Quinn Thomas each netted 16 points to lead the Broncos, who are now 1-2 on the season. The Spartans improve to 4-0 for the second straight year.
Kelli Roehrig led Michigan State with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Liz Shimek tied a career high with 19 points and eight rebounds. The Broncos were out-rebounded for the third straight contest, this time by a 55-32 margin. MSU also registered a .507 clip from the field.
Santa Clara opened the second half with four three-pointers to close to 47-38 with 15:25 remaining. Roehrig and Shimek responded by scoring all of MSU's points during a 16-6 run over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach.
Thomas added six assists and five rebounds to her overall performance, while Gonnerman posted a team-high seven boards. Ashley Graham added 14 points for the Broncos.
The Spartans used a pair of runs to distance themselves in first-half action. An 8-2 spurt gave Michigan State a 24-16 lead with 8:48 remaining. After a pair of free throws by Bronco freshman guard Tracey Walker, the Spartans closed out the final eight minutes of the frame on a 12-4 run to take a 36-22 advantage at halftime.
Santa Clara will play for third place on Sunday at 5:20 p.m. Pacific Time. The Broncos will take on the loser of the Georgia/TCU contest, currently in progress. In the consolation bracket, Idaho will play Utah for fifth place and California will take on Hawaii in the seventh-place game.
