Box Score LOS ANGELES – Santa Clara women's basketball lost a back-and-forth game at LMU Friday night by a final of 92-85. The Broncos (12-4, 2-1 WCC) trailed the whole first half before leading by as many as eight in the second half, but the Lions (8-6, 2-1 WCC) offense created some distance with a run late in the fourth that proved to be enough despite a push in the final 30 seconds by Santa Clara.
HOW IT HAPPENED:Â
- LMU came out of the gate hot, scoring the first six points of the game and midway through the period were on top by 10, knocking down six shots in a row at one point. The Lions lead would get as high as 19-6 with 3:27 on the clock as they began the game 9-of-13 from the field before Santa Clara scored the final five of the period to get within 19-11 at the end of the quarter.
- Down nine at the 6:36 mark, the Broncos scored six in a row to get within three. They went cold for nearly three minutes and LMU stretched its lead back out to eight with back-to-back buckets, but Santa Clara responded with the final eight points of the half to go into the locker room even at 35-all.
- An 8-0 run for Santa Clara in the third gave the Broncos a seven-point lead and they would end up leading by eight with three minutes to go on a triple by Maia Jones. Santa Clara went cold from the field the rest of the way and just had a free throw as the Lions closed the period on a 10-1 run to lead 57-56 heading to the fourth.
- Back-to-back buckets by Sophie Glancey gave Santa Clara a five-point lead with seven minutes to go, but LMU answered with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 74-69 lead. A 3-pointer from Jones got the Broncos within two but a 9-2 Lions run made it a nine-point deficit with just 1:40 to go. Santa Clara got back within two with 26 seconds left thanks to a 9-2 run of their own, but LMU converted at the line down the stretch to ice the game.
NOTABLE:
- Santa Clara shot 51.5-percent (35-of-68) from the field but were just 6-for-28 from downtown.
- Sophie Glancey led five Broncos in double figures with 20 on 9-of-11 shooting. Jones scored 16 with five rebounds and five assists and Ashley Hawkins scored 14 on 6-of-9 shooting while dishing out six assists. Aniyah Hooker (11) and Kylee Fox (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers.
- LMU shot it at 45.1-percent (32-for-71) and also struggled from downtown, going 3-of-14.
- Maya Hernandez led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Jess Lawson added 21 behind a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line and added seven rebounds. Paula Reus Piza added 13 points and Andjela Matic was also in double figures with 11.
- The Lions cleaned up at the free throw line, going 25-of-28 while the Broncos were 9-of-15.
- In uncharacteristic fashion, Santa Clara turned the ball over 18 times which led to 20 points for LMU.
HIGHLIGHTS:Â
NEXT UP
- The Broncos return home to take on Gonzaga Sunday at noon.
