STOCKTON, Calif. – Santa Clara University's women's basketball team started slow Tuesday night in its first road game of the 2012-13 season, and never recovered, losing 72-45 to the University of the Pacific at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

Pacific (4-0) – who will join the West Coast Conference next season – raced out to a 17-2 lead midway through the first half, then used pressure defense to insure its fourth consecutive win and a 4-0 start.

Kendall Kenyon finished with 14 points and six rebounds for UOP. The Tigers forced Santa Clara (2-2) into 29 turnovers and limited the visiting Broncos to a 30.6 percent (15 for 49) night shooting the basketball.

SCU senior Meagan Fulps made three 3s, all in the first half, helping cut an 18-point UOP lead down to seven, 29-22 with 1:09 remaining before halftime. Fulps finished with 11 points, senior classmate Lindsay Leo added 10. Junior reserve Arteivia Lilomaiava cleared nine rebounds, a new career high.

Building on a 31-22 advantage at the break, Pacific went on a 14-2 run to begin the second half. Kenyon had 10 of her 14 points after the intermission to help the Tigers go up 53-29 after she made a pair of free throws with 11:17 remaining.

The Broncos were coming off an impressive 2-1 start, soundly beating both UC Irvine and Utah Valley at the Leavey Center prior to embarking on its first road trip of the year.

This weekend's games at the University of Nevada's John Ascuaga's Nugget Classic will be a homecoming for SCU senior Ashley Armstrong, who prepped at Bishop Manogue High School.

SCU will face Toledo Friday, Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m., then face either Nevada or Cleveland State Saturday, Nov. 24. Both games can be heard live on SantaClaraBroncos.com.