Women’s Basketball Faced Off Against Oregon State
Photo by Amy Suh
Santa Clara Broncos women’s basketball suffered a brutal loss to the Oregon State Beavers in an exciting matchup that put them to the test. Following their transition from the Pac-12 to the West Coast Conference, the Beavers brought intensity to the game, challenging the Broncos to the final buzzer.
Leading the Broncos were Alana Goodchild ’26 and Maddie Naro ’27, each with 17 points, followed by Olivia Pollerd ’25 with 14 points and Malia Latu ’25 with 11 points.
Naro put the Broncos on the board with a 3-pointer in the first few seconds of the game. After the first quarter, the Broncos led 16–15, but Oregon State took charge in the second quarter, outscoring the Broncos to take a halftime advantage of 38–30.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” said Naro. “They are a really talented team, coming from the Pac-12. And they are definitely really big, so their guards are really good at finishing. Trying to stop them inside was a big aspect of the game today. We just came up a little short.”
The Broncos did not give up in the second half—scoring 9 in a row—but let the Beavers take the lead 49-44 heading into the fourth quarter. With three minutes left, the Santa Clara Broncos scored back-to-back 3-pointers by Pollerd and Mia Curtis ’24. With a score of 58-60, the Beavers got 1 of 2 free throws, but in the last 2 seconds, Goodchild hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, allowing the Broncos to tie the game and bring it into an overtime period.
When questioned about the buzzer-beater, she reflected on the stressful situation. “Not gonna lie, I don’t think I was even thinking anything. I didn’t really know how much time we had at that moment,” Goodchild remarked. “I received a great pass, and I threw it to the rim, and it just happened to go in—but I mean that is something we practice everyday, hose types of situations with being down points. So, practice does make perfect.”
The Broncos maintained their pressure in overtime as Goodchild made another crucial 3-pointer to keep the Broncos in the game. Latu kept this momentum with a following 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to put the Broncos ahead 72-71. In the closing seconds, Oregon State made free throws and a game-winning shot to win 74-72.
Despite the loss, the Broncos’ performance—even in the waning moments of the game—showed their capability to compete with elite teams like Oregon State.