RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A hot start Saturday by the Santa Clara University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a strong finish by host Cal Baptist, as the Lancers fended off one of the Broncos' best offensive performances of the young season to earn an 83-72 non-conference victory at the CBU Events Center.
The old saying, "A tale of two halves" held true Saturday. Santa Clara (2-3) outshot Cal Baptist (2-2), 42.3% to 37.9% in the first half and held a four-point, 38-34 lead heading into halftime. Then, the Lancers flipped it and outshot Santa Clara, 50.0% to 37.5% following the break and won by 11.
The Broncos played 10 players on Saturday and like Thursday's road win at CSUN, it was a full team effort. All 10 players scored at least one point, eight secured at least one rebound, six dished at least one assist, three grabbed a steal and two recorded a block. Santa Clara scored its second-most points in a game this season (72) and had its second-best shooting performance as a team at 39.7%.
Q2, 3:02 | #Broncos 34, @CBUwbb 29
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) November 19, 2022
Ashlee Maldonado's 2nd 3️⃣-pointer of the game puts the Broncos up by 5️⃣! ����#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/4WnJQmX0w7
Ashlee Maldonado was two points shy of her career high, scoring 14 off the bench Saturday to lead Santa Clara. Lexie Pritchard got into double figures for the first time in 2022-23 with 12 points – also off the bench. Tess Heal logged her fifth double-digit scoring game in as many tries with 10 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds.
Cal Baptist had four double-digit scorers, powered by a game-high 23 from Trinity San Antonio. Kinsley Barrington scored 18 points, Brittany Klaman added 11 with nine assists for a near-double-double, and Tiena Neale chipped in 10.
Both teams had 25-point quarters, with the Broncos having theirs out of the gate in the first, outscoring CBU, 25-17. Cal Baptist did the same to start the second, going on a 10-2 run immediately following halftime and closing the quarter on a 7-0 stretch to outscore Santa Clara, 25-13.
Santa Clara pulled to within two points on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get that extra basket to tie the game. Cal Baptist had immediate answers in the fourth for four of the Broncos' seven made shots – including both times they got within two points –helping keep the Lancers ahead.
4th, 8:44 | @CBUwbb 59, #Broncos 57
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) November 19, 2022
Santa Clara hits back-to-back 3️⃣s -- 1st from Anna Johnson and then *this one* from Ashley Hiraki -- to start the 4th quarter and pull within 2️⃣!#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/lMWnpb61sy
Santa Clara won the rebounding battle, 38-32. Cal Baptist took much more advantage of turnovers, scoring 17 points off takeaways, compared to just three scored by Santa Clara.
The Broncos next return home on Tuesday to host Kansas City. They then head to Las Vegas on Thanksgiving weekend for the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. Fans can find all live coverage links on the Broncos' schedule page.
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