SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In the West Coast Conference opener, Santa Clara women's basketball topped Pacific 76-52 on Monday night to push its winning streak to its longest in over 22 years.
The last time the Broncos had a winning streak of at least 10 games was when they won 11 in a row from Jan. 30-March 12, 1993.
Santa Clara (10-2, 1-0 WCC) dominated on the defensive end and on the glass. The Broncos outrebounded the Tigers 48-33 and scored 22 second chance points. They also forced 32 Pacific turnovers and collected 19 steals.
"We try to play an aggressive style on both ends of the floor," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "That's where we get our energy and I thought our defense fueled our offense tonight."
Lori Parkinson recorded a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) for Santa Clara. Savanna Hanson led all Broncos with 16 points and added three steals. Morgan McGwire grabbed 11 boards and scored nine to go with a pair of blocks while Marie Bertholdt picked up five steals and scored 10 with six rebounds.
The game started ominously for the Broncos with Hailie Eackles converting a four-point play. Santa Clara stormed back with an 8-0 run behind two threes from Hanson and would never trail again.
"You don't want to start a game with an and-one 3-pointer on defense," said Payne. "Savanna came down and hit a couple big threes to spark some momentum for us and we were able to play our game after that."
Pacific (7-5, 0-0 WCC) shot just 33.3 percent (17 of 51) from the field and 20.0 percent (3 of 15) from beyond the arc.
Ellie Lopez Sagrera led all scorers with 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting and led the Tigers with seven rebounds. Ameela Li scored seven and had five steals but turned the ball over eight times.
In what would be the deciding quarter, Taylor Berry started the third on the right foot with a three-point play for Santa Clara. The Broncos would go on to dominate the period 21-7, including an 18-2 run.
The fourth quarter saw the Broncos continue to pull away but sloppy ball handling let Pacific close the gap with a 12-2 run. Santa Clara committed five turnovers during the two-minute stretch.
"The end of the game was a little frustrating because we didn't play our style of basketball," said Payne. "We all have to be ready to come in and give our best at any time. But we're playing well overall so I'm excited about that."
Santa Clara returns to action Wednesday at Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.

July 21, 2016
Women's Basketball Adds Two International Players

July 11, 2016
Former Women's Basketball Coach Ken Thompson Passes Away

June 2, 2016
Leavey Center Court Open for Business

April 15, 2016
Carr to Head Women's Basketball Program

March 28, 2016
Payne to Become Colorado Women’s Basketball Coach

March 15, 2016
Women's Basketball Takes On Fresno State in WNIT Friday

March 11, 2016
Leavey Center Getting a Facelift



March 1, 2016
Bertholdt and Parkinson Named First Team All-WCC

February 28, 2016
Women’s Basketball Seeded No. 4 in WCC Tournament

February 27, 2016
Women's Basketball Wins Season Finale at Pacific

February 26, 2016
Regular Season Wraps Up for Women's Basketball at Pacific

February 25, 2016
Women's Basketball Falls to Saint Mary's on Senior Day

February 22, 2016
Marie Bertholdt Named West Coast Conference Player of the Week

February 20, 2016
Bertholdt's Career Day Leads Women's Basketball Over Pepperdine

February 19, 2016
Women's Basketball Hosts Pepperdine Saturday

February 19, 2016
Three Women's Basketball Players Honored by WCC for Academic Work

February 18, 2016
Women's Basketball Rolls to 20th Win with 27-Point Victory

February 16, 2016
Women's Basketball Returns Home to Face LMU

February 13, 2016
Late Comeback Attempt Comes Up Short for Women's Basketball at BYU

February 12, 2016
Women's Basketball Picks Up Big Road Win at San Diego

February 12, 2016
Women's Basketball Travels to First Place BYU

February 9, 2016
Women's Basketball Starts Tough Road Trip at San Diego Thursday

February 5, 2016
Women's Basketball Wins Thriller at San Francisco

February 2, 2016
Women's Basketball Travels Up the Road to San Francisco Thursday

January 30, 2016
Women's Basketball Cruises by Pilots

January 29, 2016
Women's Basketball Takes Down Gonzaga for First Time in 10 Years

January 29, 2016
Women's Basketball Faces Portland Saturday to Finish Homestand

January 26, 2016
Women's Basketball Hosts Gonzaga Thursday at 6 p.m.

January 23, 2016
Fourth Quarter Runs Lift Women's Basketball Over San Francisco

January 16, 2016
Defensive Stand Lifts Women's Basketball Past Loyola Marymount

January 15, 2016
Women's Basketball Holds on at Pepperdine

January 15, 2016
Road Trip Wraps Up for Women's Basketball at LMU

January 12, 2016
Trip to Southern California Up Next for Women's Basketball

January 8, 2016
Tough Fourth Quarter Sinks Women's Basketball vs. BYU

January 8, 2016
Women's Basketball Returns to Action Saturday vs. San Diego

January 5, 2016
Women's Basketball Welcomes BYU to Leavey Thursday

December 31, 2015
Women's Basketball Beats Portland for 12th Straight Win

December 23, 2015
Seeking 12th Straight Win, Women's Basketball Heads to Portland

December 22, 2015
Women's Basketball Heads to Rival Saint Mary's Wednesday

December 21, 2015
Victory in WCC Opener Pushes Winning Streak to 10 For Women's Basketball

December 19, 2015
West Coast Conference Play Opens for Women's Basketball vs. Pacific


December 16, 2015
Nonconference Play Wraps Up for Women's Basketball with UC Santa Barbara

December 12, 2015
Women's Basketball Takes Down Texas Tech, 75-70

December 11, 2015
Morgan McGwire Receives National Jesuit Player of the Week Honors

December 10, 2015
Home Matchup with Texas Tech on Tap for Women's Basketball

December 6, 2015
Women's Basketball Faces Hope International Sunday Afternoon

December 6, 2015
Two Double-Doubles Lead Women's Basketball Over Hope International

December 5, 2015
Women’s Basketball Rolls Past Simpson, 112-34

December 2, 2015
Basketball Holiday Ticket Special Available Through Friday

November 30, 2015
Morgan McGwire Named West Coast Conference co-Player of the Week

November 30, 2015
Women's Basketball Back in Action for Three Games This Week


November 27, 2015
McGwire's Career Day Leads Women's Basketball to Third-Straight Win


November 24, 2015
Women's Basketball Knocks Off No. 13/10 Stanford on the Road

November 22, 2015
Women's Basketball Travels Up the Road to Stanford Monday

November 21, 2015
Women's Basketball Doubles Up Air Force for First Win of the Season

November 19, 2015
Meet the Future of Santa Clara Women's Basketball: Tamia Braggs


November 18, 2015
Meet the Future of Santa Clara Women's Basketball: Ashlyn Herhily

November 17, 2015
Meet the Future of Santa Clara Women's Basketball: Naomi Jimenez

November 16, 2015
Season-Opening Road Trip Ends with Loss at USC for Women's Basketball

November 14, 2015
Women's Basketball Falls in Opener at Washington

November 12, 2015
Women's Basketball Signs Three National Letters of Intent

November 12, 2015
Women's Basketball Opens Season with Pac 12 Road Swing

October 30, 2015
Santa Clara Basketball Tickets Now Available

October 28, 2015
Women's Basketball Set for 2015-16 Season; Exhibition Opener Friday

September 14, 2015
Women's Basketball Releases 2015-16 Schedule

August 26, 2015
Welcome the Future of Women's Basketball: Andraya Flor