SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Tess Heal scored 16 points, capped by two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play, and Santa Clara ended No. 17 Gonzaga’s 14-game winning streak with a 77-72 victory on Thursday night.
The Broncos, who lost the first match-up this season 78-61 for its 14th straight loss in the series, trailed by 12 points in the first quarter but had a 64-50 lead on Heal’s 3-pointer with 7:20 to play. After Olivia Pollerd’s 3-pointer had Santa Clara up 69-61 with 3:43 to go, the Broncos only got off one more shot and had three turnovers.
Kaylynne Truong’s 3-pointer at 1:38 capped a 13-3 run that pulled Gonzaga within 69-66, but the Broncos made 8 of 10 free throws in the last 35 seconds.
Pollerd also had 16 points for the Broncos (14-10, 5-6 West Coast Conference), while Ashley Hiraki added 13 and Marya Hudgins 12.
Santa Clara, which came in shooting 32.6% from 3-point range, made 10 of 20 from behind the arc. The Broncos shot 53% overall and made 15 of 18 free throws. Gonzaga’s defense came into the game holding opponents to 39.2% shooting.
Yvonne Ejim scored 26 points for Gonzaga (21-3, 11-1), which dropped into a first-place tie with Portland (a three-point winner in overtime at San Francisco). Truong scored 16 points and Brynna Maxwell 12 with both hitting four 3-pointers.
Gonzaga, which travels to play San Francisco on Saturday, was 9 of 16 from distance but shot just 47% overall.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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