Women's basketball opens conference season
By Josh Griffin
The Santa Clara women's basketball team made a smooth transition from preseason into conference with convincing victories over Gonzaga and Portland at the Leavey Center this past weekend.
The Broncos defeated the Zags 99-69 Thursday night, and returned to defeat a strong Portland squad 73-68 on Saturday.
Santa Clara entered the weekend having completed their non-conference schedule with a record of 10-3, a bit of a surprise for a team predicted to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference. Along the way, the Broncos defeated two teams that were ranked at the time, Utah and Washington, as well as Temple, who last season made the NIT and figures to push for postseason action again this season.
While the Broncos are chosen to finish fifth in their own conference in the preseason, count Pepperdine Head Coach Mark Trakh among the believers.
"It's hard to bet against Santa Clara," Trakh stated in the WCC coaches call. "There're a lot of teams that are playing well, but they are playing really well. It's going to be a strong conference. Anybody can beat anybody night in and night out, but right now I'd have to pick Santa Clara. I'm not surprised at how well they're doing, they were my top pick going in."
In the game against Gonzaga, reserve freshman guard Quinn Thomas, who went 5-5 from the three-point land, finishing the game with 19 points and five rebounds, led the Broncos. Sophomore forward Jennie Rondel contributed a career high 16 points on 8-9 from the floor, and senior all-WCC point guard Becki Ashbaugh added 12 points and seven assists.
The game was close at the outset, with the score at 26-22 in the first half, but by halftime the Broncos had stretched the lead into double digits. By holding the Zags to 33 percent shooting the second half, the Broncos were able to pull ahead in the game to the final margin of thirty points.
Santa Clara maintained the level of play in Saturday's game with Portland, the team that shockingly eliminated the Broncos from last year's WCC Tournament in the first round. The team was lead once again by Thomas, who in her first collegiate start scored 22 points, including five three-point field goals.
Thomas started in the place of senior Caroline Gruening, last year's all-WCC honorable mention shooting guard, who had to sit out the game due to illness. By averaging 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals in the homestand, Thomas earned WCC player of the week honors. She became the third Bronco to receive such honor this year, following junior forward/center Julie Butler and junior forward Tammy Annas.
A 13-point halftime lead quickly turned into a 53-52 deficit in the second half, but Santa Clara soon regained the lead that it would not relinquish for the duration. While only leading by three in the final minutes, Portland missed repeated three point attempts, and Ashbaugh made four free-throws to put the game out of reach.
Santa Clara continues play this week in a home-and-home series with the University of San Diego. They play at the Jenny Craig Pavillion Wednesday night and at home on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. San Diego is 10-4 overall and 8-1 at home this season, having only lost to No. 4 Iowa State.