SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball used its defense to pick up a 62-51 win over LMU Thursday night at home.
The Broncos (9-5, 3-1 WCC) held the Lions (5-9, 0-4 WCC) to just 34.7-percent shooting from the field while limiting LMU's 3-pointers to just 3-of-18. The defense also forced 14 turnovers that turned into 14 points.
Offensively, Santa Clara shot 40.7-percent from the field, dragged down by a 3-for-12 fourth quarter. The Broncos made up for the shooting with their rebounding prowess and by keeping the ball moving. They held a 39-26 edge on the glass and 9-3 on the offensive end while assisting on 17 of 29 made baskets.
With the lead hanging around 10 towards the end of the third quarter, Lindsey VanAllen took over and went on an 8-0 run by herself to stretch the Broncos advantage to 18. Her layup with 57 seconds left in the period put her at 1,001 career points. She is the 27th Bronco to accomplish the feat.
VanAllen led all scorers with 17 points but was the lone Bronco in double-figures. Merle Wiehl scored eight with eight rebounds and Ashley Hiraki scored seven with four assists. Bryce Nixon dished out five assists while scoring six. All 10 Broncos that saw time scored at least two points.
LMU kept things from getting out of hand with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter that got them within 12 at the 4:21 mark but the scoring mostly dried up for both sides after that.
Nicole Rodriguez led the Lions with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Alexis Mark had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Ariel Johnson was also in double-figures with 11.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 52-29 all-time against San Francisco.
- This was the team's seventh win at Leavey Center this year, where they are 8-1.
- The Broncos were without Lexie Pritchard who was injured at Long Beach State. A timetable for her return is uncertain. Ashlee Maldonado is also out and will miss the entire season.
NEXT UP
The Broncos head to Portland Saturday at 2 p.m.
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