By Joe Roias — Staff Writer
Santa Clara led from start to finish as the dynamic duo of Ashlyn Herlihy and Lauren Yearwood propelled the Broncos over SJSU 89-81.
Both Herlihy and Yearwood shot over 55% from the floor and had double-digit rebounds for Santa Clara (2-1).
Herlihy scored 22 points with 18 rebounds and four assists. Yearwood finished the game with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
The Spartan offense on the other end was incredibly inconsistent.
SJSU (1-2) opened up the game by going 1-10 from the field in the opening minutes, and the Spartans were then down by 11 points at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, SJSU flipped the script and outscored the Broncos 29-19 to cut the deficit to one going into halftime.
The Spartans were led by the duo of sophomore point guard Ayzhiana Basallo and junior forward Tyra Whitehead. Basallo found the bottom of the net consistently and finished the game with 29 points to go along with six assists and four three-pointers.
Whitehead played strong in the paint and finished with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The rebounding differential proved to be the deciding factor for Santa Clara’s victory. The Broncos out-rebounded SJSU 53-33, and that created 17 second chance points.
SJSU is a team that likes to get out and run the floor whenever possible, but the Broncos excelled at getting back on defense and it resulted in zero fast break points for the Spartans.
The Broncos efficiency from the free-throw line held off a Spartan comeback. Santa Clara converted 23 of 25 free throws and held off a last-minute surge from the Spartans.
SJSU will try to bounce back when they face-off against UC Santa Barbara on Friday at 7 pm.
Follow Joe on Twitter @joe_roias