Santa Clara women’s basketball lost to Portland 73-66 on Thursday night at home. The Broncos, now 15-5 overall and 5-2 in the West Coast Conference, struggled with cold shooting stretches that proved too difficult to overcome. The Pilots improved their record to 10-8 and 4-2 in conference play.
The first quarter was challenging for Santa Clara, who made only three of their 24 field goal attempts. Despite missing ten shots in a row and then another eight consecutively, the Broncos trailed just 10-8 after one period due to Portland’s own shooting difficulties. Santa Clara collected nine offensive rebounds and forced nine turnovers but managed only three second-chance points and two points off turnovers from those opportunities.
In the second quarter, Santa Clara improved offensively by making seven of eleven shots from the floor, including two of three from beyond the arc. After falling behind by seven early in the period, a six-point run brought them within one point. They closed out the half on an 11-2 run to take a four-point lead into halftime.
The third quarter featured momentum shifts for both teams. Santa Clara opened with an 11-2 run for their largest lead of thirteen points before Portland responded with a 13-0 run as the Broncos missed six straight shots. The teams traded leads before ending the quarter tied at 49.
Portland extended its lead to seven late in the fourth quarter. Santa Clara cut it down to one but could not regain control as Portland converted free throws and scored following a steal for a decisive six-point run.
Ashley Hawkins led Santa Clara with fifteen points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Ava Schmidt recorded twelve points and eleven rebounds along with five blocks, tying her career high. Kylee Fox and Maia Jones each scored twelve points; Jones added nine rebounds while Fox had eight rebounds.
Portland shot forty-two percent from the field compared to thirty-one percent for Santa Clara. Dyani Ananiev led all scorers with twenty-two points for Portland; Florence Dallow contributed seventeen points while Rhyan Mogel added fifteen. Julia Dalan had eight rebounds and eight blocks for Portland.
Santa Clara held a significant advantage on offensive rebounds (23-9) but turned those into only fourteen second-chance points compared to ten by Portland.
The Broncos will next face Saint Mary’s on Saturday at 5 p.m.
