Broncos' lack of offense leads to St. Mary's win

By Joe Doss-Antoun

In a game that featured two of the top scoring teams in the West Coast Conference, it was the Broncos' lack of offense that was the deciding factor in Saturday night's 76-61 loss to St. Mary's.

Despite handily beating the Gaels in Moraga to start conference play, Santa Clara was unable to complete the season sweep at the Leavey Center, falling four games out of the WCC conference lead and into a tie for fourth place.

Santa Clara's inability to make shots early on was all that the Gaels needed to create a commanding lead.

In the first eight minutes of the game, the Gaels' Jontelle Smith matched the entire Broncos team with eight points, guiding her team to a 10-point lead.

As a team, the Broncos shot 28.1 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Gaels efficiently piled on points and extended their lead. Three of the Broncos' starters, Tracey Walker, Jen Gottschalk and Anna Martin, combined to shoot 0-14 from the floor.

"The timing of our sets and our positioning on the court was really off, so that had a lot to do with some of the bad shots we were getting," said Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson.

With two seconds left in the first half, St. Marys' Lauren Shaughnessy banked in a layup, which extended the Gaels' lead to 16 going into halftime. In total, the 5'4" guard recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Broncos opened up the second half cold and went 0-8 from the field, allowing the Gaels to score the first 14 points of the half and open up the lead to 29 points.

Santa Clara found a late spark when senior guard Ashley Graham checked into the game with 14 minutes remaining. Graham scored five quick points to help spark some Bronco momentum.

"Ashley had a very solid game and was very aggressive on the offensive end, and that had a lot to do with our team picking up the pace later in the game," said Bento-Jackson.

In the next 10 minutes, the Broncos improved their shooting, trimming the Gaels' lead.

With just over three minutes remaining in the game, a Chandice Cronk three-pointer put Santa Clara within reach of their opponent for the first time since the opening of the game, cutting the lead to 11.

"I did think that our energy and intensity picked up later in the second half, which allowed us to get some better opportunities in the second half," said Bento-Jackson.

However, missed shots down the stretch and untimely fouls converted into free points, were too much for the Broncos to overcome.

Cronk led the Broncos with 16 points, including five three-pointers that extended her NCAA lead to 81.

Jen Gottschalk led the team with nine rebounds, while Tracey Walker grabbed seven boards of her own. Graham also led the team with six assists off the bench.

The Broncos will host their neighbors from the Northwest when Portland and Gonzaga come to town for a series this weekend.

Contact Joe Doss-Antoun at (408) 551-1918 or jdossantoun@scu.edu.