Game Notes in PDF Format

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After playing six of seven on the road, Santa Clara University's women's basketball team is in the midst of a three-game homestand. Seattle University visits the Leavey Center on Sunday, December 19 at 2 p.m., followed by the University of Oregon Tuesday, December 21 at 7 p.m.

Game Notes - Week #7 Dec. 19-25, 2010
SEATTLE @ SANTA CLARA
Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010 • 2 p.m.
Game #10 • Home Game #4 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Video | Live Stats

OREGON @ SANTA CLARA
Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010 • 7 p.m.
Game #11 • Home Game #5 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Video | Live Stats

LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and a FREE video broadcast on SantaClaraBroncos.com will be available for both games. A three-camera video production will be streamed live with Michael Spero (play-by-play) providing the audio.

TICKETS
Buy tickets online via (SantaClaraBroncos.com), or visit the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) or by calling directly at 408-554-4660.

GAME NOTES

• Santa Clara is led by third year head coach Jennifer Mountain
• The Broncos are coming off a 52-47 victory over Pacific
• The game between SCU and Seattle, two Jesuits schools, is one of more than 90 games that will be played this season as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) 
• Lena Gipson had her third 20-rebound game of her career against Pacific, grabbing a career-high 22 boards Thursday night
• Gipson leads the WCC in rebounding (12.2) and ranks 17th in the NCAA
• Gipson also leads the team in points (11.8), FG % (49.4) and steals (1.1) and blocks (1.0)
• Santa Clara is averaging 56.3 points per game
• 9 of 12 active players for SCU are underclassmen
• Guards Meagan Fulps and Alyssa Shoji are both playing over 32 minutes per game
• Seattle is led by long-time University of Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini
• The Redhawks scored a season-high 92 points in a victory over Sac State Friday night
• Seattle and SCU have never met
• Oregon is scoring 86.0 points per game
• The Ducks enter the weekend 3-0 on the road and 7-2 overall
• Oregon beat SCU last season in Eugene and qualified for the 2010 WNIT
• Second-year UO head coach Paul Westhead has transformed the Ducks from a 9-21 team in 2008-09 to a team that already has seven wins in 2010-11
• UP NEXT: The game with Oregon Tuesday will be the final game before the Broncos break for the holiday. SCU will then play twice on the road, at UC Davis (Mon. Dec. 27) and at Cal Poly (Thu. Dec. 30).

SANTA CLARA
The Broncos (1-8) are coming off a 52-47 victory over Pacific on Thursday. Despite being competitive in every game, Santa Clara dropped their first eight – six of which were played on the road. Senior All-WCC power forward Lena Gipson is carrying the load for SCU, clearing a career-high 22 rebounds in the win over Pacific and currently riding a string of five-straight double-doubles (pts-reb). Gipson leads the WCC in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and ranks among the nation's top 20 in that category. Guards Meagan Fulps (10.9 ppg) and Alyssa Shoji (8.0 ppg) are threats from the perimeter, however as a team Santa Clara is scoring just 56.3 points per game. Counting Thursday's home game with Pacific, the Broncos are playing seven-straight in the area after having traveled to Greeley, Boulder, Bakersfield, Vermillion, Wichita and Cedar City in the last seven games.

SEATTLE
The Redhawks (4-7) picked up a road win at Sacramento State Friday night, scoring a season-high 92 points in a 92-82 win. Long-time University of Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini is in her second season at Seattle U. She entered the year with an all-time record of 618-318 (.660) - 26th on the NCAA women's college basketball wins list. The Redhawks are 3-2 in their last five, beating Sac State (92-82), Portland (61-58) and Idaho (62-43). Seattle has similar numbers to Santa Clara at 20.7 turnovers per night and a relatively low team shooting percentage of .354.  Prior to their 92-point performance at Sacramento State, Seattle had not scored more than 62 points in any of their previous 10 games.

SERIES (SCU-SEA)
Sunday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Seattle is in the process of transitioning from an NCAA Division II program to Division I.

OREGON
The Ducks (7-2) will play Santa Clara's rival St. Mary's Sunday before visiting the Leavey Center on Tuesday. The Ducks beat the Broncos 88-71 last year in Eugene. Second-year head coach Paul Westhead led Oregon to the WNIT last in his first year, with his team finishing second in the nation and first in the Pac-10 averaging 81.4 points per game. Westhead's offense produced a program record 2,767 points, while the Ducks also set a new Pac-10 record knocking down 284 three-pointers. His 2010-11 team is similar, if not better – scoring 86.0 points and making over seven 3s per night. Oregon comes to the Bay Area with a 3-0 road record, having won at Long Beach State (88-76), Portland (83-79) and at Boise State (80-64).

SERIES (SCU-UO)
Oregon leads the all-time series with SCU 9-2, including a 88-71 victory over the Broncos in Eugene a year ago. SCU is 2-3 against UO at the Leavey Center. The teams played an NCAA Tournament First Round game in Eugene in 1994, a 74-59 win for the Ducks. Prior to last season, the most recent meeting between the two schools came on December 16, 2003 at the Leavey Center, a 68-56 UO win.

HEAD COACH JENNIFER MOUNTAIN
'JMO' became the eighth Santa Clara head women's basketball coach in April 2008. She came to the Mission Campus after serving seven seasons as the top assistant coach at Gonzaga, where she helped the Bulldogs to four-straight WCC regular season championships and one tournament crown. Her Santa Clara team ended the 2009-10 season in grand fashion at the 2010 WCC tournament in Las Vegas, winning twice to become the first No. 8 seed in tournament history to advance into the semifinals. It was the second-straight year Mountain's teams peaked when it mattered most. In her first year at Santa Clara, Mountain guided the Broncos into the WCC tournament quarterfinals. "Jen understands what Santa Clara is all about," said SCU Athletic Director Dan Coonan. "It's about competitive basketball but it's about so much more than that. Educating men and women for competence, conscience, and compassion -- that's what Santa Clara really stands for. We believe that and live that here. I think Jen is the perfect person who embodies those kinds of values."

The Jen Mountain File:
• Head Coach - Santa Clara University (2008-pres.)
• Assistant Coach- Gonzaga University (2001-08)
• Boys Head Coach - St. George's School (1994-2001)
• Amateur Player - Gonzaga University (1987-91)

LAST TIME OUT
Lena Gipson had 22 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket with just over a minute left to lift Santa Clara past Pacific Thursday night at the Leavey Center, 52-47. Trailing by one with 1:07 remaining, Gipson scored and was fouled, putting the Broncos up by two after the made free throw.

Pacific had a chance to answer but turned the ball over and Santa Clara's Telisha Anderson made a 10-foot jumper with 24 seconds on the clock to ice it for the Broncos.

Gipson's 22 rebounds was a career-high and it was her third 20-rebound game in her three-year SCU career. She also had 11 points, making it five-straight double-doubles for the senior from Hanford, Calif. - the top rebounder in the West Coast Conference at 12.2 boards per game. It was the first win for Santa Clara (1-8), who was playing its third home game this season. Meagan Fulps scored 10 of her 15 points in the first half to allow the Broncos to lead at halftime 25-22.

WCC STANDINGS (Dec. 17)
Portland (8-3)
Gonzaga (7-3)
San Diego (7-3)
Loyola Marymount (5-5)
Pepperdine (5-5)
St. Mary's (5-6)
San Francisco (2-8)
Santa Clara (1-8)

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SHINES DURING ACADEMIC FINALS
Student-athletes at Santa Clara University have a reputation for excellence on and off the playing field, but one group in particular has truly raised the bar in academics: the Bronco women's basketball team. With a collective GPA over 3.3, it's clear that the women of SCU basketball are focused and determined in their academic pursuits and with finals just wrapping up, we wanted to know just how they do it. Click here for the full article.

ESPN RANKS SCU RECRUITING CLASS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Next year's incoming class for the Santa Clara University women's basketball program has been ranked No. 56 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. The Broncos and third-year head coach Jennifer Mountain announced the signing of four outstanding high school players during November's early signing period last week:

Nici Gilday of San Jose, Calif. (Presentation HS)
Vanessa Leo of San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty HS)
Colleen Rooney of Centennial, Colo. (Regis Jesuit HS)
Tyler Woods of Corona, Calif. (Centennial Corona HS)

"All four of our future Broncos fit the mold of what Santa Clara is all about.  They are extremely bright young women who value education and grasp what it means to be a Bronco both on and off the court.  They are great role models and will represent Santa Clara with respect and class at all times.  I am very excited about them joining us next year and having the chance to coach them," said Mountain.

LENA GIPSON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WCC
Lena Gipson was named to the 2010-11 West Coast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. Gipson, a senior power forward from Hanford, Calif., is one of the most prolific rebounders in Santa Clara University history. She was one of ten players recognized on the team, which was released along with the preseason coaches' poll. Santa Clara was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team league. Gipson was named an All-WCC First Team player last season after averaging a double-double (12.6 ppg/10.0 rpg) and collecting 16 double-doubles on the year, which ranked No. 23 among all NCAA players.

DID WE MENTION IT'S FREE?
In conjunction with the West Coast Conference, fans can watch a three-camera broadcast for every basketball home game and all conference road games this season FREE of charge on SCU's official athletics website (SantaClaraBroncos.com). Additionally, Santa Clara's Michael Spero (play-by-play) will call selected non-conference road games, also FREE.

SANTA CLARA WOMEN'S HOOPS ON YOUTUBE!
Check out the latest videos and features on the Broncos on the team's official YouTube page (youtube.com/scuwbb).

WCC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO VEGAS
The West Coast Conference will return to Las Vegas in 2011 for the Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships on March 4-7. In July 2009, the WCC and Orleans Arena announced a three-year contract extension that would keep the Basketball Championships at the Orleans Arena through 2012. The 2010 Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships was another successful tournament, selling out for the second consecutive year. This year's tournament will feature the same format as the previous two years, with a combined total of 14 men's and women's games over four days. Tickets for the event are now on-sale.