Nov. 17, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's basketball team posted its second straight victory of the season with a 73-51 triumph over Boise State Saturday night at the Leavey Center. Santa Clara has now won the last three meetings of the two Bronco squads and is undefeated against Boise State at home. With the win, Santa Clara improved to 2-1 on the season, while Boise State was handed its first loss and is now 2-1 overall.
Senior Jen Gottschalk (Littleton, Colo.) led all players with 28 points in only 30 minutes on the court. She was 10-for-17 from the field and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Also posting double-figure points was junior Elizabeth Doran (Corvallis, Ore.), who registered 18 points.
"I'm really proud of how my players competed for 40 minutes tonight," said head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "Although there were some mistakes on the defensive end that need to be fixed, it was a great team effort. Jen Gottschalk's has been a consistent player for us from day one and she has great determination this year and I believe her teammates are feeding off of that."
Santa Clara was the first team to score as Doran posted a two-point jumper just over a minute into the game. The Broncos then pushed to a six-point edge, 7-1, from a good layup from Sara Majors (Aurnsville, Ore.). However, Boise State fought back to knot the score at 12 points on a free throw from Sierra Moeller. Boise State then compiled an 8-0 run to make the score 23-15 on points from Jessica Thompson and Melissa Rima. But a foul by Thompson sent Gottschalk to the line, where she made both baskets to interrupt BSU's run. Yet, Boise State continued to hold onto control of the scoreboard and earned a seven-point lead, 26-17, on a jumper from Rima.
With three minutes remaining in the half, Santa Clara rallied back to tie the score 26-26 on a three-point field goal from freshman Nicole Gall (Boise, Idaho). The Broncos took control of the game on another trey from Gottschalk, 29-26, with under two minutes left. However, Boise State stuck fast and brought the score within one, 31-30, on a layup by Harris and took a one-point edge going into halftime on a jumper from Ja'Lara Walker, 32-31.
Santa Clara took control in the second half on a trey from Chandice Cronk (Wasilla, Alaska) and jumper from Doran, but Boise State tied the score 36-36. But the Broncos quickly won the ball again and started to distance themselves from BSU on an excellent play from freshman Kelli Parker (Lemoore, Calif.) and Gottschalk. Five minutes into the second half, Parker stole the ball from Boise State's Tasha Harris and made a quick pass to Gottschalk, who scored off the fast break to make the score 41-36.
After the third media timeout, Gottschalk made good with a free throw to give SCU a 20-point edge, 67-47. The Broncos then took their largest lead of the game, 22-points on free throws from Parker to make the score 71-49. Gottschalk registered her 28th point and the final point of the game with four minutes remaining.
For Boise State, Harris recorded 14 points and Thompson had 13 points. Both players led the team in steals and assists with two each.
The Broncos return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 against the Braves of Bradley in the first round of the 2007 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Tip off is scheduled for 9 p.m. PT. at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.
