Women's Basketball Falls to Gonzaga in WCC Tournament Semis

Box Score

Postgame Press Conference

LAS VEGAS – Santa Clara women's basketball went down 88-60 to Gonzaga in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship. Despite cold shooting, the Broncos (24-9) were in it after one period but it caught ups as the Bulldogs (23-9) used a big second quarter to build a solid lead they would hold on to.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first quarter saw a 7-0 run by Santa Clara in the early going but it was a tough period shooting for the Broncos as they missed 13 shots in a row and Gonzaga took advantage with a 10-0 run to get up six. Ava Schmidt and Ashley Hawkins ended the cold stretch with back-to-back 3-pointers before a Bulldogs layup in the final seconds gave Gonzaga a 17-15 lead at the end of the period, despite Santa Clara shooting just 4-of-20 in the opening 10 minutes.
The Broncos tied the game on the first possession of the second quarter but the cold shooting caught up as the Bulldogs followed with a 14-0 run over the next 2:59 to take a 31-17 lead. Maia Jones ended the run with a triple but Gonzaga came right back with the next six to build a 17-point lead. The Bulldogs ended the half on top 46-26. The second quarter was as bad as the first for Santa Clara shooting as the Broncos went 3-of-15 from the floor putting them at 20.0-percent (7-of-35) for the half. Meanwhile, Gonzaga was 12-of-17 in the second quarter and shot 55.9-percent (19-for-34) in the opening half.
A 6-0 run for Santa Clara early in the third quarter got the Broncos within six, but the Bulldogs called a timeout to regroup and the two team's went back-and-forth for most of the rest of the quarter until Santa Clara hit a scoring drought of 3:09 to end the period. Gonzaga took advantage and went on a 6-0 run to lead 66-44.
A pair of 7-0 runs for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter blew the game open.

NOTABLE:

Santa Clara shot just 26.8-percent (19-for-71) from the field and struggled from beyond the arc as well, going 5-of-28.
Hawkins led Santa Clara with 17 points and Schmidt added 14 with six rebounds. Maia Jones was also in double-figures with 13. Delainey Miller scored eight to go with eight boards.
Gonzaga shot 55.7-percent (34-for-61) from the floor and went a red-hot 9-of-14 from deep.
Allie Turner led the way with 17 point, including 4-of-5 from downtown,. Lauren Whitaker scored 16 with nine rebounds and Zeryhia Aokuso added 16 points and nine boards. Jaiden Haile (12) and Teryn Gardner (11) were also in double-figures with Haile adding 11 rebounds for the double-double.
Santa Clara did a good job in the turnover battle, forcing 20 while committing nine and turning it into a 25-13 advantage in points of turnovers.
Hawkins now has 207 assists on the year, good for second in a single-season in program history. The record is 227 be Becki Ashbaugh in 2001-02.

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