SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On a night to celebrate the seniors, Santa Clara women's basketball fell to Saint Mary's 78-70 on Thursday evening in Leavey.

The Gaels hit seven straight shots and went on a 12-0 run to take a 30-19 lead with 3:40 left in the first half. Devyn Galland even hit a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. The Broncos were never able to recover.

"It felt like they were on a run most of the night," said Santa Clara head coach JR Payne. "They shoot the ball so well that every time we made a run, they would follow with a 3-pointer. That's what good shooting teams can do. They have some really experienced players and answered every time we made a push."

Santa Clara (21-7, 12-5 WCC) ran into foul trouble and had three players foul out. Starters Marie Bertholdt, Lori Parkinson, and Savanna Hanson were all disqualified.

Bertholdt led Santa Clara with 16 points while adding four rebounds and five steals.

Parkinson scored 11 on 4 of 9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

Devin Hudson scored 10 with four rebounds and blocked four shots as well.

Saint Mary's (22-6, 13-4 WCC) was led by four double-digit scorers.

Lauren Nicholson led all scorers with 19 and was 8 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Sydney Raggio scored 13 with nine boards, six assists, and three blocks.

Devyn Gallant scored 16 behind four 3-pointers and Megan McKay scored 18 on 7 of 9 shooting from the field.

"Gallant loves the corner 3-pointer," said Payne. "To lose her in that place is disappointing. I'm proud of the way we played really hard. They're just a really good team."

Brooke Gallaway scored five straight points for Santa Clara on back-to-back possessions late in the third to make the score 50-44 and give Santa Clara hope. She drilled a three and then connected on a fast break layup.

The Broncos kept the pressure on when a 3-pointer by Marie Bertholdt at the eight-minute mark in the fourth cut the deficit to 57-54 but the Gaels were able to stretch the lead back out to 64-56 before the final media timeout.

The Broncos were just 1 of 9 from the field to end the game and Saint Mary's was efficient from the charity stripe all night, going 25 of 29.

Santa Clara returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pacific in the regular season finale.