Jan. 15, 2000

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Gonzaga University's women's basketball team dropped its Saturday night West Coast Conference game to the University of Santa Clara 98-66.

Just one night after beating the University of San Francisco for the first time since the 1988-89 season, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the torrid shooting of the Broncos and complete the California sweep.

Gonzaga falls to 8-7, 1-1 with the loss while the defending WCC champion Broncos improve to 12-3, 2-0 on the season.

Santa Clara shot the lights out on the night, hitting 33-of-57 shots from the field for a 57.9 percentage and connecting on a stunning 13 3-pointers (59.1 percent) to set a new school and WCC record. The Bulldogs hit 20-of-56 shots from the floor for 35.7 percent and ringed in seven 3-pointers in 18 attempts.

Sophomore Jessica Malone led Gonzaga in scoring for the second consecutive night with 15 points and lengthened her streak of double digit scoring to 11 games. Sophomore Erin Bergman gave the Zags a big lift off the bench, equaling her career-high with 13 points. Senior Sydney Perno chipped in 10 points to round out the double figure scorers.

The Balanced Broncos had four players reach double figures in scoring with Becki Ashbaugh's 19 points leading the way. The sophomore guard hit 7-of-11 shots from the field and was a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over 25 times compared to the Broncos 15 turnovers on the night.

Gonzaga will return to WCC action next Friday when they host the Gaels of Saint Mary's college in the Martin Centre. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.