Broncos shoot for NCAA tourney

By Cecile Nguyen

The women's basketball team was picked to finish in fifth place in the West Coast Conference in a preseason poll by WCC coaches, but don't tell the Broncos that.

"They kind of underrated us," senior forward Claire Goins said.

"It's to be expected in the beginning of the season because we lost three seniors," Goins said. "I'd almost rather be underrated than overrated. It kind of leaves you with no pressure."

"Our big goal is to make it in the NCAA tournament. So winning our conference tournament is key," she said.

"I think we are going to surprise a lot of people," senior guard Liz Doran added. "We are kind of the underdogs, but we like that."

Last year, Santa Clara finished with an overall record 20-11 and an 8-6 record in conference play, which placed them second overall during the regular season.

The Broncos were ousted in the semifinal match by the eventual WCC tournament champion, University of San Diego, last season.

"Last year, as a team we kind of faced a lot of adversity because we had so may injuries," Goins said.

"People would get thrown into positions that maybe they weren't as comfortable with, so we gained a little versatility through that," she said. "I think overall everyone's skills just improved, and that's going to be a huge asset."

First-year Head Coach Jennifer Mountain will be leading the Broncos this season.

The Portland, Ore., native was an assistant coach on Gonzaga's women's basketball team for the past seven years.

"She knows all their weaknesses so we can exploit them," Doran said. "It would definitely be nice when we play Gonzaga."

"I don't think there are any disadvantages with her as coach besides the fact that she did go to Gonzaga," she said with a laugh.

Mountain played a crucial part in turning Gonzaga's women's basketball program around from a team that ended with a dismal 2-12 record in WCC play in the 2001-2002 season to a four-time WCC Championship-winning squad.

She also helped lead the Bulldogs to their first-ever Women's NIT appearance in 1994.

According to Mountain, the Broncos will be relying on seniors Sara Majors, Doran and Goins as well as transfer forward Lena Gipson this year.

Majors is recovering from an ankle injury, but Mountain expects the guard to be back at full strength within the coming weeks.

"Our seniors are going to be three really impact players," Mountain said. "Traditionally, we haven't had a lot of sizes, so transfer student Lena (Gipson) will be somebody who can step in to help us down low."

Gipson played for Fresno City College last year before transferring to Santa Clara.

The forward went to ASU her freshman year, but tore her ACL and then attended Fresno City College, where she was named Northern California MVP.

"She doesn't have an ACL," Doran said. "She had surgery like two or three times and her body rejected it, so she plays with a big brace. I don't know how she plays without an ACL. It's got to be awful, but she's good and she's going to help us."

Another key addition for the Broncos is freshman point guard Alyssa Shoji.

"Alyssa is from Washington. I already think that she can step in the game," Doran said. "She is doing really good in practice, and she's a good point guard."

Under the previous head coach, Michelle Bento-Jackson, the Broncos were consistently one of the top teams in the nation in both three-point field goals attempts and made, but Mountain wants to implement an inside game also.

"Typically, they have been really outside-oriented," Mountain said. "A lot of guard play, but we are bringing in height. We are recruiting a class who has height and it is going to be a different look.

"We are definitely going to have a more inside-outside balance that Santa Clara hasn't had in the past. I believe that in order to be as successful in this league as we want to be you have to have both those."

Gipson, who stands at 6 feet tall, will be a presence in the lane.

"All of us post players just have to realize that we need to be more of a presence out there than we have in the past," Goins said.

"We really want to establish ourselves as a team that does have a post game instead of a team that opponents think, 'Oh, we don't have to guard their post, we'll just stack up on their threes.'"

"If we can establish a post presence, then we are going to get some easy points in the paint and we're going to open things up to our shooters," Goins added.

Another aspect the team will be focusing on is rebounding.

"Already today at the first day of practice, we've been doing some rebounding drills," Doran said. "Rebound, defenses and more rebounding are key for us."

"I think it is really important that we all play together really well because we don't have any superstars, so we have to play as a team. I think that is going to be crucial," Doran said.

The Broncos' first game will be on Nov. 11 versus the Melbourne Roos at 7 p.m. in the Leavey Center.

Contact Cecile Nguyen at sports@thesantaclara.com