STOCKTON, Calif. – Tess Heal had a historic day, tying the program record with 40 points as Santa Clara women's basketball ended the regular season with its ninth win in a row. The game was back-and-forth for the entire 40 minutes with 11 ties and 15 lead changes.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After a very tight first quarter, Pacific (16-13, 8-8 WCC) knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second quarter to build their biggest lead of the half at 28-22. Santa Clara (24-7, 12-4 WCC) responded late in the period with 13 points in a row to get on top by seven before the Tigers scored the final five of the half to make the Broncos lead 37-35 at the break.
• The Broncos scored nine in a row early in the third quarter and saw their lead stretched to 50-41 but only briefly as Pacific scored the next eight to make it a one-point game. The lead would go back-and-forth until the final 1:17 of the quarter when Santa Clara scored the final seven to take a 63-58 lead.
• The game was tied at 70-all at the 5:17 mark of the fourth quarter after six in a row for the Tigers. After Pacific got within 78-75 with a layup at 1:46 the Broncos executed from the line to close things out.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Santa Clara shot 45.8-percent from the field and 8-of-24 from downtown while Pacific was slightly better at 52.5-percent from the floor but just 6-of-20 from deep. The Broncos also had a big advantage at the free throw line, going 23-of-28 to 9-of-12 for the Tigers.
• Heal's 40 points came on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point land, and 14-of-16 from the charity stripe. She also added seven assists for good measure. She broke her previous career-high of 39 set February 16, 2023 vs. BYU.
• Olivia Pollerd bad a good day as well, scoring 17 and Lara Edmanson scored 15 on 5-of-8 shooting and connected on three triples in four attempts.
• Pacific had four in double-figures led by 16 from both Elizabeth Elliott and Rosie Schweizer. Cecilia Holmberg added 12 and Anaya James had 11. James also added 10 assists for the double-double.

 
OTHER NOTES:

• The team's 24th win also gives them the second most in program history, trailing only the 1990-91 team that won the WNIT and went 28-3.
• Santa Clara's 12-4 WCC record puts them in second place in the conference and is the highest conference winning percentage since the team went 11-3 (.786) in 2005-06. That was the last time the Broncos finished in first.
• The victory today was the team's 11th road win of the year, the most in program history.
• The ninth consecutive win is tied for the fifth longest in program history. It has been done four other times, most recently January 19 – February 17, 2006. The program record is 12 in a row from November 21 – December 31, 2015.
• Heal (608) and Pollerd (470) are now the top single-season scoring duo in program history with a combined 1,078 points this season. They surpassed Melissa King (595) and Julie Lienert (475) from the 1990-91 season.
• Ashley Hiraki moved into second place on the all-time Santa Clara steals list with two. She now has 190. King is first with 266.
• Heal tied Nici Gilday (2011-15) who also scored 40 February 27, 2014 at home vs. LMU.

 
NEXT UP

• The Broncos next game will be in the semifinals at the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas Monday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. as the No. 2 seed.