SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a battle of the South Bay, Santa Clara women's basketball gutted out a 67-58 win at San Jose State on Wednesday night to stay perfect on the young season.
Neither side shot well from the floor with the Broncos (3-0) finishing at 41.1-percent while holding the Spartans to just 31.0-percent. Santa Clara was 9-for-24 from beyond the arc while limiting San Jose State to just 6-of-23.
The teams headed to the fourth with the score even but the Spartans made just three field goals and the Broncos were able to take advantage and create a little distance. The lead would get to as many as seven in the final quarter when a 3-pointer from Lana Hollingsworth and a bucket from Merle Wiehl made it 63-56 with just under a minute to go.
"This was a good road win," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "It was a toughness game for us. There were two teams that were battling out there and we were able to get some separation at the end. I'm happy for the team."
Wiehl finished the night with a team- and season-high 23 points and was 8-of-15 from the field while connecting on three triples. She also pulled down a team-best-tying eight rebounds. Hollingsworth chipped in 15 points, one off her career-high, while setting a career mark with eight boards.
Despite being behind by 10 at the end of the first quarter, San Jose State came out and scored the first 11 points of the second to take the lead. A'Tyanna Gaulden led the way, scoring the first seven, including a 3-pointer to kickstart the run.
"Good teams are going to make runs at you," Carr said. "We withstood it tonight and after getting our feet under us, we pushed back. The team grew up tonight and learned some things about ourselves, both good and bad. That's what you do at this time of the year. We'll move on and continue to get better."
Gaulden ended with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting but it was Cyndi Lewis' 24 points that led all scorers. Lewis was just 6-of-17 from the field but went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Ella Ogier also scored in double-figures with 10.
The first seven baskets of the second half all came from behind the arc. Ashley Hiraki knocked down the first two for the Broncos with Lexie Pritchard and Wiehl adding ones of their own. A layup from Hollingsworth gave Santa Clara a 46-41 lead but San Jose State scored the final five of the quarter to send it to the fourth all even.
Hiraki scored 11 and joined Wiehl as the two Broncos to score in double-figures in each of the team's first three games.
Early on, Santa Clara looked like it might run away from the Spartans after by building a 10-point lead at the end of the first with a pair of 6-0 runs. The first featured four points from Wiehl and lasted a minute midway through the period. The second came in the span of 30 seconds on back-to-back 3-pointers from Hollingsworth and Hiraki that stretched the lead to 18-6, the biggest lead of the night for either side, with 3:48 on the clock.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 31-25 all-time against San Jose State.
- The Broncos began the game with two free throws due to an administrative technical on the Spartans for not having their lineups turned in on time, Lindsey VanAllen knocked won both free throws.
- Santa Clara won the battle of the boards 43-32.
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The Broncos head to Long Beach State Sunday at 2 p.m.
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