Women’s Basketball Triumphs in Fourth

Broncos down in fourth but comeback late

Jack PriceTHE SANTA CLARAFebruary 11, 2016

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he women’s basketball team is now on a hot six game winning streak after beating the University of San Francisco by a slim margin of 59-57.

The Broncos are 18-5 overall and 9-3 in the West Coast Conference. They have the same record as Saint Mary’s, who lie one step ahead of them in the league.

“We are thrilled with how well our season has gone so far this year,” said Head Coach JR Payne. “With so many new players playing significant roles, it is great to see how well everyone has meshed.”

The Broncos started the game on fire shooting 46 percent from the field, compared to the Dons’ 20 percent in the first quarter. Both teams, however, struggled in the second quarter as they combined for just 21 points. Santa Clara made just one shot in the quarter. They led 25-22 at half.

In the third quarter, the Dons outscored Santa Clara 24-17 and took a seven point lead.

Down four points entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos tightened up their defense and held USF to 36 percent shooting. Santa Clara came back within the last two minutes of the game to come away with the win.

“We struggled (against)their pressure which is something that we’ve been working on and have improved,” Coach Payne said.

Marie Bertholdt led the game in buckets with 16 points. She was also active around the rim and snagged seven rebounds.

Devin Hudson put up 13 points and a team high of nine rebounds.

“I was very proud of our rebounding effort in the USF game,” Coach Payne said. “We were +10 which was a big factor in the outcome. As always, our defense was critical down the stretch of the game, creating several turnovers in the last two minutes of the game.”

On the Dons side, Zhane Dikes put up 12 points and four steals, contributing to the 11 total steals the team pulled away with. The Broncos held Taylor Proctor, one of the best players in the WCC, at bay yet again, limiting her to only eight points and five rebounds throughout the game.

With only six more games left in the regular season, conference is coming down to the wire.

The team is hopeful for the future and excited to resume play this week.

Next, Santa Clara hits the road for two tough games. First they play the University of San Diego, ranked No. 2 in the WCC. Saturday they move on to Utah to take on Brigham Young University, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the WCC.

“This week will be a very tough week playing at USD and BYU, two teams that beat us earlier this year,” Coach Payne said. “We always want to work harder than our opponent, be tougher than our opponent and be disciplined in how we play the game. 

Contact Jack Price at jhprice@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.