SPOKANE, Wash. – A rough first half proved too much to overcome, despite a big third quarter run, as Santa Clara women's basketball fell at No. 17 Gonzaga 67-50 Saturday afternoon.
Down 34-11 at halftime after going just 4-for-23 from the field in the first half, the Broncos (12-8, 8-6 WCC) managed to get the deficit down to single digits in the third quarter but the Bulldogs (18-2, 13-0 WCC) responded and pulled away in the fourth.
Santa Clara finally got a little offensive rhythm going early in the second half and outscored the Bulldogs 24-12 during the third quarter, including a 22-7 run to get back in the game. Merle Wiehl scored seven points to lead the charge with Lana Hollingsworth adding five, including a 3-pointer at 2:17 that cut the deficit to 41-33.
Gonzaga got back in its groove following the 3-pointer and went on an 11-2 run to stretch the lead back out to 52-35 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Wiehl finished with a team leading 11 on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from downtown with Hollingsworth adding seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Lindsey VanAllen added nine and Ashlyn Herlihy scored seven with six rebounds.
The Broncos were able to bring their shooting percentage up to 39.6-percent for the game by going 15-of-25 in the second half, including 9-of-14 in the third quarter.
A brutal second quarter for Santa Clara turned a close game into an uphill battle. The Bulldogs closed the first half on a 19-0 run and outscored the Broncos 22-3 in the second quarter. Melody Kempton scored eight points during the stretch to lead the way.
Kempton was one of three players to lead the team with 12 points each. LeeAnne Wirth and Jenn Wirth were the other two to score a dozen and Jill Townsend scored 10. The trio of 12 points scorers went a combined 16-for-28 from the field with the rest of the team going just 12-for-37. As a team, Gonzaga shot 43.1-percent for the game.
Santa Clara's only points in the fateful second quarter, and final 15:37 of the first half, were a 3-pointer from Herlihy with 7:50 left. During that time the Broncos went 1-for-17 from the field.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 29-43 all-time against Gonzaga.
- The Broncos 12-8 record through 20 games is tied with the 2012-13 squad for the best start since 2000.
- Santa Clara is now 6-2 on the road to start conference play. Since the conference expanded from eight teams in 2011-12 to feature at least eight road contests, that is tied with the 2015-16 team as the best stretch in program history to begin a season.
- Ashlyn Herlihy is now 14th all-time at Santa Clara with 1,113 career points.
UP NEXT
The Broncos head to LMU to play Tuesday at 2 p.m. It is a makeup for the game postponed on January 28.
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