Feb. 21, 2015 Final Stats
BUY TICKETS | Complete 2014-15 Schedule | Inside LMU Women's Basketball | LMU on Facebook |
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - LMU women's basketball has found luck in pink. Donning their pink jerseys for the second time this season, this time as part of Santa Clara's Play4Kay breast cancer awareness game, the Lions completed the season sweep over the Broncos with a 75-63 victory in the Leavey Center Saturday afternoon.
The win was the first on the road this season for LMU (5-23, 3-14 WCC), and the first since defeating Santa Clara (10-15, 5-11 WCC) on its home court nearly one year ago.
No player was a bigger factor than sophomore Leslie Lopez-Wood, who poured in a career-high 32 points, including a career-best seven three pointers. Her second three of the game was No. 71 for the season, pushing her past her own LMU single-season record of 70, set last season. Her seventh and final three of the game matched the LMU single-game record, also achieved by three other former Lions. She also become the first Lion to surpass the 30-point mark since Alex Cowling scored 31 points against Portland on Feb. 11, 2012.
Joining Lopez-Wood in double figures was senior Emily Ben-Jumbo, who finished with 19 points, including 13 in the second half. Olivia Lucero came off the bench to chip in eight points, all from the charity stripe. Alyson Lock also had a solid game off the bench, adding six points and six assists.
Santa Clara was paced by Emily Wolph's 15 points. Nici Gilday had 14 points in her final appearance at the Leavey Center while Moran McGwire added 13 off the bench. Mari Bertholdt pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds for the Broncos.
A dismal first-half shooting performance by the Lions was offset by a 13-for-14 performance from the free-throw line. LMU managed just 9-of-32 from the field (28 percent), but attacked the basket aggressively, earning a 14-10 edge over the Broncos in free throws.
A Lopez-Wood three and Lock jumper int he final minute of the first half helped LMU carry a slim 34-32 lead into the break.
The two teams battled in the early goings of the second half, trading the lead back-and-forth. Trailing 50-48 with 12:37 to play, the Lions went on an 8-0 run capped by a Bree Alford layup. McGuire would hit back-to-back layups to snap the LMU streak, and bring the Broncos back within two.
But from there, Lopez-Wood took over. The North Hollywood native would drain three consecutive threes, followed by a pair of foul shots, to give the Lions a nine-point cushion, 67-58, with 4:41 to play. Lucero would add a pair of three throws, helping the Lions stretch their lead with three minutes to go.
A Beth Carlson layup briefly sent the spread back down to single digits, 69-60, with 2:46 on the clock, but Ben-Jumbo would nail a jumper in the lane and Lopez-Wood sank all three foul shots after being fouled on a three-point attempt, stretching the lead to 14, 74-60.
A 54.5 percent shooting effort in the second half helped LMU to a 39 percent effort for the balance of the game. The Lions also finished 26-of-35 from the free-throw line.
Santa Clara wrapped up it's final home game shooting 37 percent front he field, 27 percent from three and 77 percent from the charity stripe, but managed to earn just 14 chances.
The Lions return home for their final regular-season game of 2014-15, hosting PCH Cup rival Pepperdine on Saturday, Feb. 28 in Gersten Pavilion. Seniors Emily Ben-Jumbo and Taylor Anderson will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to the 2 p.m. tip off.
