SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The final "study session" before finals week is done.
The Santa Clara University women's basketball team played its final game Sunday ahead of taking a break for finals, performing as expected for the second time in three days to earn another huge victory in a 74-30 romping of UC Santa Cruz at Leavey Center.
The Broncos' schedule this week gave them the full span of the competition spectrum before taking a break. It started Wednesday when they went on the road to the No. 2 team in the country and played Stanford closer than any other opponent not named No. 1 South Carolina had this season. Then they hosted Lincoln University (Calif.) on Friday – a program that's only two seasons old and carried just seven active players – and earned their fifth-largest win in program history, 97-37.
On Sunday, Santa Clara (7-4) hosted the NCAA Division III member Banana Slugs (7-1), who entered the game undefeated and ranked No. 18 in the nation for Division III. The Broncos again rebounded well after setting a program record on Friday, pulling down 49 boards – their second-most in a game this season. The defense was on point, collecting nine steals and swatting a season-high six blocks.
Postgame interview time!
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) December 5, 2022
Hear from head @coachbillcarr following this afternoon's big win over UC Santa Cruz ��#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/4hdHlxQuQ4
Three Broncos scored double-digit points. Lara Edmanson logged her third double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. She also had three assists and a steal. Tess Heal scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting while barely missing a double-double with eight rebounds. She added two assists, two steals and her first career block. Ayzhiana Basallo also had 15 points with three 3-pointers, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Santa Clara jumped all over UC Santa Cruz in the first quarter. The Banana Slugs made just one basket in the first 10 minutes, shooting 1 for 16 (6.3%) from the floor. UCSC would turn it over 13 times in the first half, leading to 19 Santa Clara points off turnovers, and the Broncos led 41-15 at halftime.
E2 | #Broncos 41, @ucscwbb 15
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) December 4, 2022
Lara Edmanson beats the halftime buzzer with the o-board and put-back to give Santa Clara one more basket before the break!#StampedeTogether | #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/V3SNRL1Osd
The Banana Slugs were led by Amanda Inserra with 11 points and seven rebounds. Lilli Hammons scored six points and had three rebounds off the bench.
Santa Clara next plays on the road on Sunday at Nevada, then returns on Dec. 13 to host Silicon Valley rival San Jose State. Fans can purchase tickets for home games and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
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