PORTLAND, Ore. – In a crucial game for seeding in the West Coast Conference tournament, Santa Clara women's basketball went into Chiles Center and won a thriller 77-76 over Portland behind a clutch shot in the final seconds and a big defensive stand.

With the Broncos (12-7, 8-5 WCC) down two and the shot clock off, Merle Wiehl drilled a 3-pointer with a hand in her face and just 4.1 seconds left on the clock for what proved to be the game-winner.

The Pilots (10-8, 7-5 WCC) still had a chance on the other end after a timeout moved the ball to half court. Alex Fowler, who scored a team high 20 on 9-of-14 shooting, got the ball but a pair of defenders forced her to take an awkward shot that was off the mark.

Santa Clara was able to hold off Portland despite the Pilots going 7-of-9 from behind the arc in the second half thanks to big games from Ashlyn Herlihy, Ashlee Maldonado, and Wiehl.

Herlihy led all scorers with 24 of 10-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-6 from downtown, while grabbing nine rebounds. Maldonado scored a career best 16 on 7-of-13 shooting while dishing out four assists and Wiehl scored 15 on 6-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers.

Maldonado and Herlihy both hit 3-pointers late in the fourth to put Santa Clara up by four, but Portland would respond with two 3-pointers of their own from Maddie Muhlheim and Emme Shearer to take a 76-74 lead with 27 seconds left on the clock.

Muhlheim finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and Shearer added seven. Haylee Andrews scored 18 with nine assists and Liana Kaitu'u added 10. Fowler grabbed a game high 11 rebounds for the double-double.

Both teams shot well from the floor with the Broncos at 49.2-percent and the Pilots at 52.7. Santa Clara was 9-of-21 from downtown but that was overshadowed by Portland's 11-for-18 mark.

The Pilots built their largest lead of the day midway through the third when Muhlheim's 3-pointer made it 51-43 with 3:13 on the clock. Santa Clara answered with the final 10 points of the quarter, including six from Herlihy. Maldonado's acrobatic layup as the buzzer sounded gave her team a two-point lead heading into the final period.

Both teams went on runs late in the first half. The Broncos got back-to-back triples from Wiehl and Bryce Nixon to take a six-point lead, their biggest of the day, but the Pilots came back with the final seven of the half and held a 33-32 lead at the break.

NOTES

• Santa Clara is now 48-32 all-time against Portland.
• Lindsey VanAllen returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous game with a right knee injury.
• Only two Santa Clara teams in the last 18 years have started with a better record through 19 games. The 2007-08 team began 15-4 and the 2015-16 squad started 14-5. In 2012-13, the Broncos also opened with a 12-7 mark.
• The Broncos are now 6-1 on the road to start conference play. That is tied for the best mark in program history with the 1990-91, 1992-93, and 2015-16 teams.
• Ashlyn Herlihy is now 15th all-time at Santa Clara with 1,106 career points.

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The Broncos travel to No. 17 Gonzaga Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

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