Broncos Can't Establish Rhythm

By Ryan Marshall

As unforgiving as the rims at the Leavey Center were for the Broncos on Saturday, the Santa Clara women's basketball team only fell to Saint Mary's by 10 points, 57-47.

The Broncos missed their first seven shots in the opening five minutes and were down 10-0 before junior Ashley Armstrong scored Santa Clara's first two points, avoiding the rim entirely with a swish from near the free throw line.

The shot by Armstrong served as a catalyst for the rest of the offense, and the Broncos were able to stay within 10 points of Saint Mary's for the remainder of the half. 

With five minutes remaining the Gaels' Jackie Nared hit a jump shot that started a 9-2 Saint Mary's run. Nared had seven of the Gaels' nine points in that span, which propelled the Gaels' eight-point lead to 15 in just a minute and a half. Nared led all scorers with 16 for the game. 

The Gaels had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and shot 45 percent from the field. Santa Clara did not have any second-chance points, shot 28 percent from the floor and were down 36-20 at the half. 

"We didn't hit shots today," said fourth-year Head Coach Jennifer Mountain. "Alyssa (Shoji) didn't hit shots and kids that normally get touches just didn't shoot the ball very well. We're at our best when we can share the ball and go inside-out a little bit, and I thought their big kids did a good job of taking (Leo) out of the game." 

Nared and Leo traded layups to start off the second half and then the Broncos missed four three-pointers in a row, still struggling to find an offensive rhythm. Saint Mary's got out to their largest lead, 49-27, with just under 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

Although Saint Mary's was able to control most of the game, the Broncos finished on a 20-8 run capped off by a three-pointer from junior Telisha Anderson. Anderson's bucket came with nine seconds left and cemented the final score of 57-47.

The Broncos played with energy on defense throughout the game, causing 22 Saint Mary's turnovers, while only committing six of their own. However, Santa Clara lost the rebounding battle in a big way, only collecting 23 to the Gaels' 57.

"We came out with a lot of energy on the defensive end, but I think it came down to little things like boxing out," said senior guard Alyssa Shoji. "We had a few lapses and I think that hurt us and we just weren't able to fight back. The energy was definitely there. We've just got to focus it and do the little things." 

Not only did Saint Mary's pull down over twice as many rebounds as the Broncos, the visitors also finished the game with as many rebounds as they did points. 

"The biggest thing we can learn from this (loss) is rebounding, especially against teams that are bigger than us," said Mountain. "Lindsay (Leo) got in foul trouble right from the get-go and the rebounding numbers were definitely the biggest difference in the game. We've got to take that into Thursday against Gonzaga, and Portland on Saturday."

Contact Ryan Marshall at rmarshall@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.