LAS VEGAS – No. 3 seed Santa Clara University women’s basketball (23-8, 13-5) defeated No. 7 University of San Francisco (16-13, 9-9 WCC) 87-69 in the quarterfinal round of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.  Both Santa Clara and USF struggled offensively in the first quarter, but the Broncos took control with dominant performances in the second and third quarters.  Maia Jones ’26 led the Broncos with an impressive 28 points and six rebounds.  “It was an amazing feeling. I had a lot of jitters. Tournament is a whole different atmosphere,” said Jones, when asked about playing in Sunday’s game. “Every team comes out like it’s their last game. They play hard. I felt like we all played as a team.” Hawkins now has 204 assists this season, ranking second in single-season in program history behind Becki Ashbaugh ’02, who recorded 227 in 2001-02. In their most recent matchup one week ago, the Broncos rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Dons 90-82 in overtime at home.  Sunday’s game marked USF’s third of the tournament. The Dons beat No. 11 San Diego on Friday and No. 6 Pepperdine on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. Santa Clara has shown significant improvement since last season, when the Broncos entered the WCC tournament as the No. 8 seed and were eliminated in their opening game. Before Sunday, the Broncos had not won a WCC tournament game since March 2021, when they defeated LMU in the quarterfinal round.   “We’re gonna celebrate this for at least the next hour. It’s fun to win in Vegas,” said head coach Loree Payne, after her first win in the tournament with the Broncos.  This is the first time Santa Clara has beat San Francisco three times in a single season since 2010-11 and the first time they beat a conference opponent three times in a season since Portland in 2014-15.  Next up: With the win, Santa Clara advances to the semifinal round to face No. 2 Gonzaga on Monday, March 9, at 2:30 pm PT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. 📝: @ninaglickphoto @aneeka.sideline 📷: @ninaglickphoto

Santa Clara men’s basketball traveled to Moraga, California to face Saint Mary’s College on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in a matchup with major implications as both teams competed for better positioning in the WCC tournament. The game was packed with Saint Mary’s fans, who were loud and passionate throughout the night, creating a hostile environment for the Broncos. Still, Santa Clara has won in tough road games before, and the crowd alone does not fully explain the Broncos’ performance. Santa Clara’s chances of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament began to slip away at halftime. The Broncos now rely on a strong run in the upcoming WCC Tournament to strengthen their case. The Gaels led 75-59 with five minutes remaining and extended their lead to as many as 23 in the final two minutes before securing an 86-67 victory. While Saint Mary’s shot better than Santa Clara from both the field and the 3-point line, the biggest difference came on the rebounds. The Gaels dominated the rebounding battle 51-21. What went wrong? The answer started on the boards. The 30-rebound deficit was impossible to overcome. As the scoring margin widened, head coach Herb Sendek grew increasingly frustrated on the bench. Santa Clara is one of two WCC teams with three players averaging over 13 points per game in conference play: Hammond, Mahi and Graves. However, against Saint Mary’s, Hammond finished with just 11 points, and Mahi added 5. The loss drops Santa Clara to third place in the WCC standings and significantly reduces their chances of climbing higher before the conference tournament, leaving fans searching for answers. Sendek and his team knew what was at stake and how important it was to get the job done. The Broncos had defeated Saint Mary’s at home on Jan. 17, 62-54. In that matchup, Santa Clara was outrebounded by just 5. Next up: The Broncos will play their final regular-season game against Oregon State at Leavey Center on Saturday Feb, 28, at 5 p.m., where they will honor seniors Brenton Knapper ’26, Elijah Mahi ’26, Malachi Douyon ’26 and Brendan Yarusso ’26. 📝: @aneeka.sideline 📷: @ninaglickphoto