Jan. 2, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Riding high after a last-second 70-69 win Saturday night over Ball State, the Santa Clara women's basketball team will take it's four-game winning streak into the Save Mart Center to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs Monday night.

Head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson, a 1992 graduate of and former basketball and softball star at Fresno State, will face her alma mater for the fourth time in her tenure at Santa Clara. The last time these two teams faced one another was in last year's season opener, a 76-71 Bulldogs win.

This year, the Broncos (6-6) bring a high-scoring offense (81.0 ppg) into the battle, paced by the 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds a game of senior guard Michelle Cozad. Today the West Coast Conference announced that Cozad earned her fourth WCC Player of the Week honor after averaging 21.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals over two Bronco victories last week.

Chandice Cronk and Ashley Gonnerman are each having career years, averaging 11.1 and 10.6 points, respectively. Gonnerman is also averaging 4.0 rebounds a game and is shooting 52.6% from the field.

Santa Clara is seeking to extend its winning streak which began with an 85-54 win at Eastern Washington on Dec. 15. The streak includes a 96-77 victory over CS Northridge last Wednesday, the third time this season that the Broncos have exceeded the 90-point mark.

The Bulldogs (7-4) head into Monday night's match-up from a 77-67 loss at Texas Tech on Dec. 29. Fresno State is already 2-0 this season against the WCC, having defeated San Diego and San Francisco previously. They are led offensively by the trio of Mirenda Swearengin (18.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Amy Parrish (15.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Chantella Parera (13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

Monday's clash is the final non-conference game of the season for the Broncos, as they begin WCC play Friday night at Gonzaga.