Women’s basketball’s 11-game winning streak was snuffed Thursday night after a devastating 101-72 loss to No. 2 UC San Diego, at home. The loss left the Broncos with an 18-3 overall record and 10-2 in its conference.
The Broncos were not able to stop the Tritons’ efficient shooting all night as the Tritons shot 54.9 percent from the field.
UC San Diego’s ball movement and 3-point shots for the entire game gave the Broncos headaches as they were not able to contain the Tritons when they went 15-28 from behind the arc.
“They have some pretty quick releases on some of their shooters,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. “I don’t know how many times this year 22 (Sydney Sharp) is going to go 8-12 from the three, but give her credit. She was in the zone and hitting them, that’s where we have to be better, but that’s on the scout to run her off the 3-point line and so we have to be better at that.”
To start the first quarter, the Broncos quickly went on the board with a jumper from junior forward Kasey Smit, but midway through the quarter the Tritons answered back and went on a 9-2 run after scoring three consecutive 3-point shots.
Coming into the second quarter the Tritons were leading 22-13, and picked up where they left off in the first, shooting from the field and outscoring the Broncos. With the clock winding down, the Broncos continued their shooting struggles and consequently the Tritons increased their lead by 22 points, which took them into halftime leading 53-31.
Senior forward Jordyn Shane led the Broncos in scoring with 21 points, and also contributed five rebounds and seven assists.
“I think offensively my performance was good, and I think that’s something I can always contribute to,” Shane said.
“I do lack on the defensive end and I think my leadership was very poor today. So I think I have to give the same effort that I give on offense on defense and being a leader and being a good teammate.”
In the third quarter both teams came out hot, exchanging shots for half of the quarter until there was 6:22 on the clock. The Tritons stepped it up and went on an 18-10 run to end the quarter with the largest lead of the game, by 30 points.
For the final quarter, the Broncos made a final comeback attempt and tightened up defensively, only allowing the Tritons to score 21 points. The Broncos made stops on the defensive end which helped them diminish the Tritons’ 3-point shooting percentage to 46.2 in the second half after allowing them to shoot 60 percent in the first half.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos’ junior forward Monica Todd, one of three Broncos with double figures in scoring (15), showed her physical presence as she drove into the paint twice and scored back-to-back layups.
“I think tonight was a learning experience for us. We need to make that our No. 1 priority, and make sure that if we face them again we know what we have to work on,” Todd said.
Later in the quarter, despite an early run by the Broncos, the Tritons answered and brought their lead back up by 30 points and were able to finish off the Broncos by taking home the win with the final score of 101-72.
The Broncos got back in the winning column on Saturday night as they defeated Cal State San Marcos 64-60.
On Thursday night the Broncos will take on Humboldt State, and they’ll face Chico State on Saturday.