Streaking Broncos win third straight

By Gina Massetani

A shaky start for Santa Clara's women's basketball has not extinguished the team's goal to finish in the top half of the West Coast Conference. With the WCC as competitive as it is, the Broncos are applying everything they learned from their difficult pre-season games to prepare for conference play.

The team had a tough time achieving their first win at the beginning of the season. The Broncos lost eight consecutive games, but the team remained upbeat.

"We had to get over that hump," said sophomore Meagan Fulps. "We knew that once we got that first win more would come."

The team worked hard throughout pre-season to improve and make adjustments needed to strengthen the team; the women never felt as though they were stuck in a ditch.

"Playing consistently was the hardest obstacle for us to overcome at the beginning of the season. We had our struggles winning games, but we are starting to overcome that," said Fulps. "We are going into everything with confidence."

 Freshman Ricki Radanovich added that, "preseason taught us we need to go into every game with confidence. Winning the first game was the hardest thing."

The team's 5-10 record proves their hard work is paying off, as they have won five out of their last seven games. One of their most recent wins was against Cal Poly San Louis Obispo. They trailed Cal Poly for the majority of the game, but fought hard to tie it up and force the game into overtime. Working well together, the team executed efficiently and came out with a huge win and a boost in team morale.

Santa Clara's momentum continued when the took down the University of San Francisco in a 69-50 blowout.

Hard work and a winning attitude have helped the team become even stronger. Practicing upwards of three hours a day displays their dedication.

Comprised of three freshman, seven sophomores, one junior and two seniors, Santa Clara is a youthful team. With such a young group of girls the team has been able to connect even more than in previous seasons.

"We are still young. We have three new [players] on the team that are contributing a lot," said Fulp.

Team chemistry is apparent both on and off the court, and it has greatly impacted the Broncos style of play.

"We are never playing for ourselves. We are playing for our teammates. We would rather have a great team win than one individual winning the game for us," said Radanovich.  

With a winning streak in progress, the team is looking for fan support.

"We love when people come to our games," said Fulps. "Unfortunately we haven't had the greatest turnout which is understandable since we had such a rough start to the season. Now that we are on a winning streak we would love the support of the fans to come out. It gets us pumped and makes us play better."

Though conference play just kicked off, the team still has the WCC Tournament in the back of their minds.

"We are always excited for the tournament," said Fulps. "We never know what to expect. Last year we didn't do so hot in the conference, but did well in the tournament. However, right now we are playing game by game. The better we do now, the better we will do in the tournament."

Santa Clara women's basketball will host San Diego Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Contact Gina Massetani at gmassetani@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.