LOS ANGELES – Santa Clara women's basketball went on the road and picked up a 63-49 victory at LMU Thursday night. After a tightly contested first half, the Broncos were able to create some distance in the third quarter and maintain their lead through the final whistle.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A 17-4 stretch in the first quarter put Santa Clara (16-7, 4-4 WCC) on top by 10 with 2:57 to go in the opening period but LMU (9-12, 4-5 WCC) would cut that deficit to 19-15 after the first 10 minutes of action.
• The Lions used the final four points of the first and first five of the second to take a 20-19. The teams would go back-and-forth all quarter with the biggest lead being four by the Broncos twice. After it was tied once again, a layup by Tess Heal put Santa Clara up 35-33 at the half.
• An 8-0 run starting at the 6:57 mark of the third stretched Santa Clara's lead and gave the team a little breathing room with a 51-40 advantage with two minutes left in the period.
•  In the fourth, the Broncos stretched their lead to as many as 16.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

•  Santa Clara shot 43.6-percent from the floor and went 10-of-26 from downtown. LMU shot 36.4-percent and went 6-of-17 from deep.
• The Broncos took advantage on the offensive glass, holding a 19-4 advantage in second chance points thanks to 11 offensive boards.
• Olivia Pollerd led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc while adding six rebounds as well. Tess Heal scored 17 and had five boards and four assists.
• Da'Ja Hamilton and Maya Hernandez both scored 11 to lead the LMU offense.

 
OTHER NOTES:

•  With 16 wins, the Broncos have tied their most in a season under Bill Carr. They accomplished the feat in 2021-22 as well.

 
NEXT UP

• The Broncos are at Pepperdine Saturday at 2 p.m.