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.
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Women's Basketball Adds Two International Players
July 11, 2016
Former Women's Basketball Coach Ken Thompson Passes Away
June 2, 2016
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Carr to Head Women's Basketball Program
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Payne to Become Colorado Women’s Basketball Coach
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Leavey Center Getting a Facelift
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Women’s Basketball Seeded No. 4 in WCC Tournament
February 27, 2016
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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
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February 16, 2016
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January 29, 2016
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Women's Basketball Hosts Gonzaga Thursday at 6 p.m.
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January 16, 2016
Defensive Stand Lifts Women's Basketball Past Loyola Marymount
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Women's Basketball Holds on at Pepperdine
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Road Trip Wraps Up for Women's Basketball at LMU
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Tough Fourth Quarter Sinks Women's Basketball vs. BYU
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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
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Seeking 12th Straight Win, Women's Basketball Heads to Portland
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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
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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
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Women's Basketball Faces Hope International Sunday Afternoon
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Two Double-Doubles Lead Women's Basketball Over Hope International
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Women’s Basketball Rolls Past Simpson, 112-34
December 2, 2015
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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
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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
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November 16, 2015
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November 12, 2015
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October 30, 2015
Santa Clara Basketball Tickets Now Available
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