STOCKTON, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball overcame a tough first quarter and nearly hit a buzzer beater but fell 71-69 at Pacific Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale.

On the final possession of the game, Emily Wolph, who led all players with 21 points, dribbled around the top of the key before putting up a 3-pointer that would have won the game, but the ball went halfway in before coming out and the clock expired.

Wolph finished the day 7 of 12 from the field and was 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. It was her third 20-plus point game of the season.

The thrilling finish was set up by a defensive stop that gave Santa Clara (11-18, 5-13 WCC) its first chance at the lead with 13 seconds on the clock, but Merle Wiehl couldn't convert and the Broncos were forced to foul. Brooklyn McDavid made one of two from the line and the Broncos called a timeout to get the ball at half court.

McDavid led the Tigers (16-13, 9-9 WCC) with 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting and added eight rebounds. Also in double figures with 10 each were Savannah Whitehead and Sofie Tryggedsson.

After a 7-0 run earlier in the first quarter, Pacific ended the period scoring the final seven and scored the first two of the second to build a 14-point lead. Jordan Cruz scored four straight from the free throw line at one point and Whitehead's layup at 9:09 in the second gave the Tigers a 26-12 lead, a hole the Broncos battled to dig out of for the next three quarters.

After an and-one by Wolph got the Broncos within two, Tia Hay had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 1:28 to go but missed the second attempt. Pacific grabbed the board and Tryggedsson nailed a triple on the other end. Not to be outdone, Wolph came right back with a 3-pointer of her own to keep her team within one.

Hay finished 12 points and four assists while going 8-for-11 from the free throw line. Ashlyn Herlihy chipped in 13 points as well and Lindsey VanAllen added eight points despite battling foul trouble.

Merle Wiehl's 3-pointer with 5:46 to go in the fourth capped a 7-0 run that trimmed a 10-point deficit down to just 60-57. The lead wouldn't grow to more than five the rest of the way.

The Broncos got within one for the first time with five straight points midway through the third quarter. Herlihy drilled one from deep and Wolph connected on a jumper at 3:15 to make it 47-46.

The Tigers came right back with six unanswered points to stretch their lead back up to 53-46 at the end of the period.

Both teams got cold during the final minutes of the first half. Pacific didn't score for the final 3:02 and the Broncos only had a pair of free throws from Wolph over the final 2:48 until Herlihy connected from downtown to cut the deficit to 34-26 with eight seconds to go in the first half.

NOTES

• Santa Clara is now 30-24 all-time against Pacific.
• With two blocks, Lauren Yearwood now has 116 in her Santa Clara career, putting her at third all-time. Morgan McGwire (2014-18) is in second place with 138.

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The eighth-seeded Broncos play ninth-seeded San Francisco at noon Thursday in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

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