Broncos "Go Green" on Court

By Gabe Taylor

No fear. No looking back. And more than anything, no regrets. 

With two wins in the last three games, this approach — labeled the "go green" or green light approach by the coaching staff because it preaches unrestricted offense— appears to be exactly what the Santa Clara women's basketball team needed to shed its losing woes. 

"We really needed something extra to think about to get us over that hump," said forward Lindsay Leo. 

The Broncos head into the final stretch of the season with a 10-15 record overall, 3-9 in the West Coast Conference. 

Nearly a month had passed without a Santa Clara victory. 

After dropping seven straight games, the Broncos rallied to turn it around, picking up two much-needed victories in a row over San Francisco and Loyola Marymount. 

"We've been in every single game we've played," said Mountain, explaining that the team just struggled to come out on the winning end. 

In an attempt to extend their winning streak to three, the Broncos fell flat to St. Mary's last Saturday. 

The Broncos were dealt a blow earlier in the season when emerging post-player Ruta Zurauskyte suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. A year after rarely finding time in the rotation, the 6-foot-4 center had established herself as a presence inside, posting 12.8 points per game to go along with 7.9 rebounds per game.

Adjusting to the personnel available, Mountain is relying on Ashley Armstrong and Leo to be the strongholds in the middle both offensively and defensively. The result: a smaller frontcourt. 

"It's hurt us a little bit as far as having two bigger people down low," said Mountain, noting that the WCC tends to be undersized at the post positions. "We're actually not that big of a team to start with."

Prior to Zurauskyte's season-ending injury, Leo was counted on to rebound. But with Zurauskyte sidelined, Leo is picking up the slack offensively in the post. 

"She definitely had to step up her game and become more of a complete player and really take on that offensive role that we needed," said Mountain. 

In Santa Clara's two wins over San Francisco and Loyola Marymount, Leo recorded a combined total of 28 points on 50 percent shooting.

"I knew she had it in her,' said Mountain. "She just hasn't had the opportunity to play those kind of minutes. I think it's been really good for her, with her development."

With Leo scoring around the rim, Mountain is noticing the outside opening up. 

Alyssa Shoji is taking advantage of the good looks, connecting on the fifth most threes per game in the nation with 3.3. 

Santa Clara will have to ride the hot hands of Shoji and Leo into the final games of the season, which will decipher their placement at the WCC Tournament. 

Although the Broncos face off against Gonzaga on Thursday, the focus is on coming away with victories against Portland and USF.

"We've got to take care of business," said Mountain, realizing the implications of the upcoming games. 

Standing at sixth in the WCC, Santa Clara is a game up on Portland and a game-and-a-half ahead of San Francisco. The Broncos need to finish top-7 in the conference to avoid Wednesday night's play-in game. 

"It takes one day away from having tired legs, and quite frankly I think we're better than that," said Mountain.

The Broncos will travel to Spokane to take on Gonzaga at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday. 

If they execute the "go green" approach, they will close out the season with no regrets.

Contact Gabe Taylor at gtaylor@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.