STANFORD, Calif. — Wednesday evening at Maples Pavilion will have a big circle around it for the rest of the 2022-23 season as a landmark game for the Santa Clara University women's basketball team.
Even in defeat.
The Broncos pressured, pushed and competed with the No. 2 team in the country – 2021 national champion Stanford – on the road in front of more than 2,600 fans Wednesday, scoring the second-most points allowed by the Cardinal this season in an 82-69 non-conference setback at Maples Pavilion.
Santa Clara (5-4) finished the game closer to the Cardinal (9-1) than any other opponent had in eight other victories this season. No. 2 Stanford entered Wednesday with wins by 64, 54, 40, 38, 37, 29, 27 and 24 points before holding off the Broncos in a seemingly slim 13-point triumph.
Listen to head @coachbillcarr's postgame comments after the Broncos pushed No. 2 Stanford all night on the road#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/42SOLDl9AB
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) December 1, 2022
The game was even closer during the fourth quarter when Santa Clara twice cut its deficit to single digits and put a scare into No. 2 Stanford with more than half the quarter still to play. First, a Lexie Pritchard layup made it 68-60, and then a minute later, Olivia Pollerd hit another of her career-high five 3-pointers on the night to make it 71-63.
Pollerd – a Washington transfer with a year of Pac-12 Conference experience under her belt – scored a career-high 19 points with additional career highs in field goals made (7) and 3-pointers made (5). She added two rebounds and a block. Lara Edmanson was Santa Clara's other double-digit scorer with 12 points. She chipped in two rebounds, an assist and a block.
Q1, 32.5 | #Broncos 19, @StanfordWBB 18
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) December 1, 2022
5️⃣ straight points for Lexie Pritchard and with this 3-pointer -- she gives Santa Clara the lead in the 1st!!#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/xtgHuVQIkw
But Stanford stamped out any hopes of a bigger comeback with a key 7-0 run in only a minute and 45 second's time to lead by 15 at 78-63 with only three minutes left.
A traditional three-point play by Cameron Brink, a layup from Indya Nivar and another layup by Haley Jones sealed the game for the Cardinal. Santa Clara finished shooting 2 for 9 from the floor in the game's final five minutes. That included going 0 for 2 with a turnover and a foul during those important 105 seconds of Stanford's run.
Santa Clara hit 13 3-pointers as a team Wednesday – second-most in a game for the Broncos this season, and tied for the most allowed by Stanford in 2022-23. SCU shot 38.2% from deep, the second-best rate allowed by Stanford in the season's first month.
On the other end of the court, the Broncos' perimeter defense held the Cardinal to its worst 3-point shooting performance of the year. Stanford shot just 27.3% from behind the arc – the first time it's been held below 31% since its Final Four loss to UConn last season. Santa Clara grabbed three steals, tallied two blocks and scored seven points off of eight Stanford turnovers, showing fight on both ends of the court for all four quarters.
No. 2 Stanford had five players in double figures, led by Hannah Jump's 19 points. Kiki Iriafen scored 16, and Jones posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Brink and Francesca Belibi both added 12 points.
The Broncos next return home for six of seven games in the month of December at Leavey Center. The stretch starts with back-to-back home contests on Friday and Sunday against Lincoln University and UC Santa Cruz, respectively. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
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