quick turnaround for the Zags who return home for this match
Just three days after a big win in Portland, the Bulldogs have returned home to host the Santa Clara Broncos. The tip-off will be at 2pm PST later today and if you’re in Spokane, I hope you get to spend a lovely Saturday afternoon in the McCarthey Center.
The Broncos currently stand at 8-7 and are coming off a win of their own against the Washington State Cougars. It’s been a bit of a mid-year for Santa Clara fueled primarily by the transfer of former WCC stud, Tess Heal who led her team last season with per game averages of 19.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. As such, this win against the Cougs is likely viewed in the locker room as one of their biggest wins this year given that two of their wins have come against non-D1 opponents.
There really hasn’t been a natural replacement for Heal thus far as the scoring hasn’t really rebounded with only one player, 6’3” senior forward Olivia Pollerd, that is scoring more than 10 points per game. The Aussie was selected to the WCC Preseason Team of the Year and has performed close to it this season as she’s posting 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks. Despite her size, Pollerd is sporting a 60/40 split between her two pointers, 8.9 per game on 47.2%, and three pointers, 6.4 per game on 31.5%, so the Zags will need to extend their defense for this player while also being mindful of her defensive presence as those 1.9 blocks led the WCC.
Trailing Pollerd is a trio of three players scoring between 8.3-9.5 points per game. All three are starters, listed as guards, and stand at about 5’8”. Senior Malia Latu leads the way with 9.5 points and she also leads the threesome in rebounds with 4.1 per game. Despite being second on the team, her shooting is pretty woeful, 39.3% from two, and is basically exclusive to within the arc as she averages less than one shot from beyond per game that she converts at 20%.
Sophomore Madison Naru may be the shortest of the starting guards at 5’7”, but she’s the best three point shooter on the team with her 38.5% mark on 3.5 per contest, second most per game, which helps her average 8.7 points. Furthermore, she also leads the team in assists with 4.1 per game so she can do a bit of both. She’ll be an interesting player to watch as I feel the Zags have struggled at times controlling quick guards capable of distributing to teammates effectively.
Trailing Madison narrowly in points is senior Kaya Ingram with 8.3, but despite the similarity in points scored, Ingram has a statistical profile of a player that operates within the arc, similar to the aforementioned Latu. Kaya is currently averaging just 1 three per game that she’s knocking down at a 26.7% clip while from 2-point range she’s putting up nearly six per game at 41.4% efficiency.
As a squad, the Broncos both score and allow their opponents to score just over 63 points. Their 45.2% shooting from two, 30% from three, and 67.4% free throw shooting all rank outside the top 225 in the nation so this could be a brick fest depending on what the basketball gods want to see later today.
Maybe as a way to combat that poor shooting, this team averages just over 40 rebounds per game, a number that ranks 44th in the nation, although the majority of these come off the defensive glass, 28.5 which ranks 46th nationally, compared to the offensive end, 12.1. This would seem to suggest the importance of the Zags either (a) simply making your shots so the Broncos don’t have the opportunity to pickup rebounds or (b) fight like hell down low to maybe sneak some second chance opportunities with those offensive rebounds.
When looking at the game log for Santa Clara, the most notable stat that jumps out is their chance of winning when the team shoots well from deep. In 5 of the 6 wins against D1 opponents, the lowest the Broncos have shot the three ball was 37.5% and that was their only time not eclipsing 40%. Conversely, in 6 of their 7 defeats, all against D1 teams, the team couldn’t eclipse 30% from beyond the arc and in four of those losses, they were below 25%.
This match represents an opportunity for the Bulldogs to really build some momentum, get the win to secure their third in a row, and get out healthy. Hit the comment thread below to share you thoughts on the match!