SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A cold first half was too much to overcome as Santa Clara women's basketball closed out 2024 with a 65-53 loss to San Francisco. The Broncos (7-7, 1-3 WCC) struggled to shoot from the opening whistle which allowed the Dons (6-6, 3-0 WCC) to build a big lead in the early going that a push in the third quarter by Santa Clara couldn't overcome.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• San Francisco opened the game with the first 12 points and went on another 10-0 run later in the period. Santa Clara didn't make its first field goal until the 3:30 mark of the period, starting 0-for-8 and finishing the opening period 2-of-15. Meanwhile, the Dons were hot from the field, hitting seven straight field goal attempts at one point and knocked down five 3-pointers to hold a 25-10 lead after the first 10 minutes.
• Neither team shot well in the second quarter with the Broncos going 4-of-17, and 6-of-32 in the half, while the Dons were just 5-of-25 in the period. San Francisco was still able to extend its lead to 38-18 heading to the half.
• The Broncos came out and scored the first eight of the second half and after the teams' exchanged buckets, back-to-back 3-pointers by Maddie Naro and Irena Korolenko got Santa Clara within single digits at 47-38. San Francisco got a 3-point foul and converted all the attempts to lead 50-38 at the end of the third.
• After the Dons extended their lead to 18, Santa Clara scored the next seven, five by Olivia Pollerd, to get the game to 60-49 with just over five minutes to go. Both teams went cold the rest of the way, ruining any chance of a Bronco comeback.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

•  Santa Clara finished the night at 31.7-percent from the field and 7-of-21 from beyond the arc.
• San Francisco shot it at 31.9-percent and went 11-of-37 from downtown.
• Pollerd and Naro led the Broncos with 13 points each. Pollerd also added a career-high 12 rebounds for her second career double-double. Naro connected on three 3-pointers and added five rebounds and three assists. Kaya Ingram also cracked double figures with 10.
• Freya Werth led all scorers with 22 and added eight rebounds. Emma Trawally Porta scored 17 with nine rebounds and Debora Dos Santos had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

 
OTHER NOTES:

• With her jumper at the 4:22 mark in the fourth quarter, Olivia Pollerd passed the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career. She finished the night with 1,001 in her career and 994 at Santa Clara.

the moment Polly joined the 1??0??0??0?? point club ?? ?? #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/yIcxBkFn8k

— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) December 31, 2024

NEXT UP

• The Broncos play at WCC newcomer Washington State Thursday at 6 p.m.