SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – An efficient day from the field and a pair of 20-point performances led Santa Clara women's basketball to a convincing 84-65 win over Portland Saturday afternoon.
The Broncos (8-5, 4-3 WCC) shot a season high 59.6-percent from the field, including 71.4-percent in the first half. Lindsey VanAllen and Ashlyn Herlihy, the team's two leading scorers, led the charge, scoring 23 on 7-of-9 shooting and 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, respectively. The duo both just missed double-doubles with Herlihy grabbing a team high nine rebounds and VanAllen adding eight.
"Offensively we were dialed in and everybody was ready to shoot or score and everybody was a willing passer," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "The decision making at the end of the press was outstanding. There were times where we had an average shot but pulled it out to get a better shot. We made them guard us on the perimeter."
Santa Clara also got solid contributions from Merle Wiehl who scored 10, Lexie Pritchard who scored eight with a career-high six assists, Lana Hollingsworth who scored eight with four rebounds, and Ashley Hiraki who scored seven with a career high five assists. Starting point guard Ashlee Maldonado also chipped in five assists with just one turnover.
"In a game like this, you need one or two people to score and that's what Ashlyn and Lindsey did," Carr said. "Everybody else that played in the game made a play. Not everybody scored but everybody made a play to help us win the game. That's really good to see."
As a team, the Broncos assisted on 24 of their 28 made baskets. It was their most assists in a game this season.
"The ball was moving, it wasn't sticking," Carr said. "Everybody was ready to shoot once it came to them. I'm really happy with the execution of that part."
The Pilots (7-5, 4-2 WCC) led for much of the first half but the tide turned when the Broncos went on a 13-0 run over three minutes in the second quarter to turn a four-point deficit into a nine-point lead. VanAllen led the way with six points, including four free throws, and Lara Edmanson's layup at 1:27 make the score 39-30.
Santa Clara never trailed again and in the second half, the lead dipped to single digits just twice, both times at nine.
"I thought we did a really nice job of answering any kind of comeback they were trying to make," Carr said. "They got it down a couple times in the second half but we responded with a bucket or by drawing a foul. It never really got out of hand for us where it was a scramble situation, and that's growth."
Portland got a 6-0 run from Alex Fowler over 1:05 early in the second that put the Pilots on top. The final bucket at 8:08 made it a 23-19 lead for the Pilots, tying their biggest lead of the afternoon.
Fowler finished with a team leading 16 points, 13 in the first half, and six rebounds. Haylee Andrews added 11 and Liana Kaitu'u scored nine.
As a team, Portland shot 38.7-percent from the field and were held to 7-of-25 from downtown by the Santa Clara defense.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 47-32 all-time against Portland.
- The Broncos won the battle of the boards 36-22.
- Ashlyn Herlihy now has 1,027 points in her career, good for 23rd in program history.
Check out the @HerculesTires Strong Plays of the Game from Saturday's victory over Portland!#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/P0WBhcChik
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) January 17, 2021
��️ Hear from head coach Bill Carr on today's victory over Portland!
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) January 17, 2021
Postgame interview presented by @ROATweets.#StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/ADS3knZrvd
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