Box Score TEMPE, Ariz. – Santa Clara finished one of the best nonconference seasons in program history with a 65-55 win at Arizona State on Saturday afternoon. The Broncos got off to a quick start and overcame a tough third quarter in a game they never trailed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Santa Clara (12-3) started well, scoring the first seven points of the game to jump out to the quick lead. They finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run as well to build a 20-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
• The Broncos had an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter, highlighted by triples from Jayde Cadee and Olivia Pollerd, but the teams ended up playing even in the period to send Santa Clara to the locker room up 38-31.
• Arizona State (8-5) used a quite third quarter from Santa Clara to tie the game. A 7-0 run in just under three minutes evened the score at 40-all and the period would end with the score even 44-44. During the quarter, the Broncos made just one field goal and scored just six points.
• Things turned around right away in the fourth quarter as Santa Clara scored the first 10 points and held the Sun Devils scoreless for nearly the first five minutes. The Broncos had just one field goal over the final 3:29 but converted eight times from the free throw line to seal the game.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

•  Santa Clara shot 40.0-percent from the field and 41.2-percent from downtown while going 22-of-27 from the free throw line.
• Arizona State was held to 32.4-percent from the floor and 3-of-16 from beyond the arc.
• Tess Heal led all scorers with 23 points, 16 in the second half, thanks to going 13-of-15 from the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds. Olivia Pollerd scored 19, 17 in the first half, and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers in nine attempts made while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds.
• Trayanna Crisp scored a team-leading 12 for Arizona State with Jaddan Simmons scoring 11 and Kadidia Toure adding 10.

 
OTHER NOTES:

• Santa Clara's 12 nonconference wins tie the most in a season with the 1990-91 season when they went 28-3 and won both the WCC and the WNIT. 
• With the win over the Sun Devils and one over Oregon earlier this year, the Broncos now have two wins over Power 5 schools for the first time since 2015-16. That year they went 23-9 and made the WNIT.
• The wins over Arizona State and Oregon also give Santa Clara two wins over Pac-12 opponents in the same season for the first time since 1993-94 (then the Pac-10) when they beat UCLA and Washington State.

 
NEXT UP

• West Coast Conference play begins January 6 against Pacific at Leavey Center.