Box Score SAN FRANCISCO – Santa Clara women's basketball's defense cause a rough day from the field for San Francisco in a 59-50 win on the Hilltop. The Broncos (12-11, 6-7 WCC) took a lead to start the second quarter and never gave it up as their defense suffocated the Dons (10-12, 7-6 WCC) all day.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara jumped out to the early lead, but San Francisco went on a 9-0 run to take the lead 16-11 late in the first quarter. Oliva Pollerd came back with the final five of the period to get the Broncos even at 16 after the opening 10 minutes.
- San Francisco struggled in the second, making just one of its first 13 field goal attempts. Santa Clara took advantage by building the lead to as many as nine late in the period. The Dons got a little offense going over the final two-plus minutes but were just 3-for-17 in the quarter. The Broncos held a 29-22 lead at the half.
- San Francisco came out of the half and scored four in a row to cut the deficit to three, but Santa Clara responded with the next five to rebuild the lead to eight. After some back-and-forth, a 3-pointer by Mia Curtis gave the Broncos a then-game-high lead of 47-36 at the end of the third.
- In the fourth, the Broncos put the game away midway through with an 8-2 run that pushed their lead to a game-high 16 with 4:46 to go. An 8-2 run by the Dons closed the game but it wasn't enough to make it interesting.
Â
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Santa Clara shot 46.2-percent from the field and went 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. The Broncos also collected 17 assists on 24 made baskets.
- San Francisco shot just 27.9-percent from the floor and just 2-of-23 from downtown.
- Olivia Pollerd led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds for her third double-double this season. Malia Latu scored 11 to give her double figures in nine straight games and Hannah Rapp added 10 on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
- Freya Werth was the only Don in double figures with 18 but she struggled from the field, going 6-of-20. She also added eight rebounds.
Â
HIGHLIGHTS:
Â
NEXT UP
- The Broncos return home to take on Pacific Thursday.
