SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball was able to erase an 11-point halftime deficit but Gonzaga pulled away late and left Leavey Center with a 72-55 win on Thursday night.
A 9-0 run over a minute and a half midway through the third quarter put the teams even at 39-all. During the run, Lara Edmanson hit a huge 3-pointer and Lindsey VanAllen capped it with a hard-earned layup.
The Bulldogs (19-5, 10-1 WCC) would stretch the lead back out to nine when Eliza Hollingsworth scored the first five points of the fourth quarter but once again, Santa Clara (11-11, 5-7 WCC) had a response. Seven in a row, capped by VanAllen's triple, made the score 54-52 with 5:46 to go. Gonzaga would take over from there.
The Zags finished the game on an 18-3 run, started by Kaylynne Truong making a pair of 3-pointers. Truong would add another 3-pointer, with her sister Kayleigh hitting one as well, later as they scored the final 10 on the night.
Kaylynn Truong finished with a game-high 18 on 6-of-9 shooting and 4-of-5 from downtown. Kayleigh Truong added 14 with five rebounds and four assists with Yvonne Ejim scoring 12 to go with six rebounds.
As a team, Gonzaga shot 44.8-percent from the floor and went 7-of-20 from deep, but 5-of-7 in the fourth to help the late run.
Santa Clara managed a 36.4-percent mark shooting and went 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Broncos finished the game cold, missing their last five shots and converting on just one of their last seven attempts.
VanAllen and Lana Hollingsworth led the way on offense. VanAllen scored 17 on 7-of-14 shooting with Hollingsworth scoring 16. Danja Stafford had the next highest total for Santa Clara with seven and brought down a team-high six rebounds. Ashley Hiraki scored six and dished out six assists.
Both teams had hot and cold stretches in the second quarter. Early in the period, Gonzaga scored 11 in a row to get on top by 14 with 5:36 to go. Santa Clara responded with seven in a row of their own to get back within seven before the Zags scored the final four of the half.
The game was close over the first eight minutes before a cold spell for Santa Clara allowed Gonzaga to go from one down to six up after the opening 10 minutes of action.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 29-46 all-time against Gonzaga.
- Lindsey VanAllen is now at 1,185 career points, good for 11th all-time at Santa Clara. Next is Lana Gipson (2008-11) with 1,224.
- The Broncos were without Lexie Pritchard who was injured at Long Beach State. Her return is uncertain. Ashlee Maldonado is also out and will miss the entire season.
NEXT UP
Santa Clara head to LMU Saturday.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
