LAS VEGAS – In a tale of two halves, Santa Clara women's basketball came up on the wrong end of a 63-61 game against Portland in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament on Monday afternoon. The Broncos were in control in the first half but the Pilots took the second and ended up with the victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Santa Clara (24-8) opened the game hot, getting out to a 10-3 lead before scoring the final eight points of the period to take an 18-6 lead.
• The second quarter was much more even with the teams going back-and-forth with the Broncos holding a 30-18 lead at the half.
• A 10-0 Portland (20-12) run in the third made it just a two-point game with 3:59 to go in the third. Santa Clara didn't make a field goal over the final 3:38 of the quarter but still held a 46-43 lead behind seven free throws and solid defense.
• Up 55-51 at the midpoint of the fourth quarter, the Broncos saw the Pilots score the next 10 to get on top 61-55. Olivia Pollerd and Tess Heal both mad 3-pointers around a Portland layup to make it a two-point game with three seconds left but Heal's shot at the buzzer was blocked.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Santa Clara shot 39.2-percent from the field in the game but were just 4-of-14 in the fourth. The Broncos connected on eight triples in 19 attempts.
• Portland shot42.3-percent for the game and 57.7-percent in the second half while going 7-of-17 from downtown.
• Heal led all scorers with 20 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds. She went 11-fo-12 from the free throw line. Pollerd scored 15 on 5-of-9 from deep with Lara Edmanson added 14 points and six rebounds as well.
• Maisie Burnham led Portland with 17 points and Kennedy Dickie had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kianna Hamilton-Fisher was also in double-figures with 10.

 
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
 

Hear from Bill Carr after today's hard-fought WCC semifinal game.#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/7mSXsG4SNx

— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) March 12, 2024

NEXT UP

• The Broncos will await their postseason fate.