The Bronco women started the season with a dozen consecutive wins, tying a team record for best start to a season en route to the most regular-season wins since 1998–99. They capped that off with a thrilling 59–58 win over Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament before falling to top-seed BYU 87–67 in the semis. The women made it to the NIT but lost to Fresco State, 59–53, in the opening round.
The Broncos finished their season 23–8, 13–5 in conference. Beating Stanford on its home court was one of the highlights; the 61–58 upset in November took down the team ranked No. 10 in the nation. You’d have to go back to 1984—a decade before most of today’s Santa Clara players were even born—for our last Palo Alto win.
Forward Lori Parkinson, a redshirt junior transfer, led the team in scoring. She was one of five conference players to earn a spot on the WCC All-Tournament Team. Junior forward Marie Bertholdt was another beast on the glass and in the paint, racking up five double-doubles and being named to the WCC All-Academic team.
Sophomore Taylor Berry was a defensive mainstay for the team, which was tops in the nation for forced turnovers and steals. Coach JR Payne said after the team’s conference-opener victory over Saint Mary’s, “If you want to be a Santa Clara Bronco, you have to do the dirty work.”