SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's basketball remained perfect at home with a 72-59 win over local rival San Francisco Saturday afternoon. Defense was the story for much of the night as the Dons were able to hang around until the Broncos pulled away late.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Tess Heal took over for a stretch midway through the first quarter, going on an 8-2 run by herself to get the Broncos (15-5, 3-2 WCC) on top by six but five in a row by the Dons (7-12, 3-2 WCC) ended the quarter with Santa Clara up just 14-13.
• Santa Clara came out and scored the first seven of the second to build an eight-point lead. The teams combined for just one field goal over the final 5:10 of the half and Santa Clara led 26-21 at half.
• San Francisco was able to cut the deficit to as low as two near the halfway point of the third quarter but the Broncos responded with back-to-back buckets. The lead was at three headed to the fourth.
• The final quarter saw Santa Clara start to stretch its lead and the Broncos got their first double-digit lead with 2:51 left. They connected on their free throws in the final minute-plus to ice the game.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Santa Clara finished the day at 46.0-percent from the field while San Francisco was 32.1-percent. The Broncos went 8-fo-21 from deep while holding the Dons to just 4-of-20.
• The duo of Heal and Olivia Pollerd did the heavy lifting on offense with Heal scoring a game-high 21 and Pollerd adding 17 and seven rebounds. Jade Cadee also cracked double-figures with 12.
• Jasmine Gayles led San Francisco with 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. Debora Dos Santos scored 14 and had six boards as well with Freja Werth scoring 13.

 
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
 

Hear from head coach Bill Carr after today's win to move to 8-0 at home.#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/3z1KqIZvAq

— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) January 20, 2024

HIGHLIGHTS:
 

Check out how we picked up another win at home!#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/JYoLTETcYi

— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) January 21, 2024

NEXT UP

• The Broncos remain home and take on No. 17 Gonzaga Thursday.