Feb. 24, 2011

Box Score

Highlights from Lions' All-Access.

LOS ANGELES - A game of runs saw Santa Clara use a 15-0 second-half spurt to halt LMU 56-49 in a West Coast Conference game Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion. Senior Renahy Young went over 1,500 career points by opening the final homestand of her career with a game-high 20 points, her 20th career games of scoring in 20-or-more-points.

The Lions (10-17, 4-9 WCC) entered their final homestand still with a shot at a top-four seed at next week's Zappos.com WCC Championships. A pair of LMU wins this weekend, coupled with two Portland losses, would have seen the Lions to leapfrog both the Pilots and the Broncos (10-17, 6-7 WCC) in the standings. Instead, it was Santa Clara's 50% shooting in the second half that allowed it to overcome a five-point halftime deficit and move into a fourth place tie with Portland. The Lions will receive either the sixth or seventh seed and will open the tournament on Friday, March 4.

As she has for much of the recent history as LMU plays without starting junior Alex Cowling and Candice Nichols, Young shouldered much of the offensive load, reaching 20 points for the sixth time in conference play. She needed a career-high 28 shots to get there, however, finishing 8-for-28 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the line while adding four steals, three rebounds, and a pair of assists. Young has at least two games remaining to try to reach second place on LMU's career scoring list as she currently sits 49 points shy of Kate Murray (1999-2004) at 1,566.

Freshman Hazel Ramirez was also in double figures with 10 points and freshman Camille Buckley recorded her 12th double-digit rebounding game of the year with 12 boards to go along with six rebounds. Senior Melanie Ysaguirre chipped in eight boards, all on the offensive end.

LMU struggled from the floor all night, finishing 18-for-68 (26.5%) from the floor, 3-for-18 (16.7%) from long-range, and 10-for-13 (76.9%) at the line. The Lions dominated the offensive glass, with 24 of their 39 boards coming on the offensive end, but could only connect on 11 second-chance points. LMU also forced 23 turnovers while committing 14, but the points-off-turnover category was even at 18-all.

A balanced scoring attack saw four Bronco starters score in double figures. Alyssa Shoji led the team with 14 points, including two clutch free throws with 32 seconds left after LMU had cut the deficit to six. Lena Gipson scored all 12 of her points in the second half while adding 14 rebounds and Ricki Radanovich and Meaghan Fulps each had 10. Santa Clara shot 42.6% (20-for-47) from the floor, 27.8% (5-for-18) from three, and 73.3% (11-for-15) at the line while holding a 41-39 rebounding edge.

The game of runs saw Santa Clara take control early with a 10-0 spurt, highlighted by a pair of Shoji threes, giving the visitors an early 12-4 advantage. The Lions were quick to recover, however, as Young and Buckley combined for the next 10 points to key a 12-0 LMU response as Santa Clara went scoreless for 6 1/2 minutes. LMU's defense was harassing the Broncos, forcing 15 first-half turnovers to help the hosts take a 27-22 halftime lead.

Santa Clara committed three turnovers in its first four possessions of the second half as the woes continued after the break. LMU could not take advantage, though, never pushing the lead above five. That enabled the Broncos to settle and rattle off an 11-0 run to turn a 29-24 deficit into a 35-29 lead on a three by Meagan Fulps.

The Lions made one final push, getting five points from Ramirez as part of a 9-0 run to pull ahead 38-35 with 9:45 remaining but the Lions would go cold and would not score again until the 2:10 mark. That was all the opening that Santa Clara needed, feeding Gipson inside for six points during the decisive 15-0 run to take a 12-point lead, 50-38, with 2:35 left. The Lions would cut it down to six, 52-46, on a layup by Young with 42 seconds remaining but Shoji iced the contest at the line.

LMU wraps up the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. against San Francisco. Prior to tip-off, the Lions will honor their four graduating players and a team manager who will be participating in their final home game.