Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — The BYU women’s basketball team was down four points in overtime after leading Santa Clara by as many as 15 points, and time was running out.
Fortunately for the Cougars, Cassie Broadhead was on their side.
Broadhead scored a game-high 28 points, scoring or assisting on nine of the Cougars’ final 10 points, and Kalani Purcell added 10 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks to help BYU survive Santa Clara 72-66 in double overtime Thursday night in the Marriott Center.
“It was definitely an emotional game,” said Broadhead, who also had seven assists and three rebounds. “They are a great team; it’s always a close battle with them. We put everything on the line today, and coming out with that victory felt so great.”
Santa Clara had a 61-58 lead with two minutes left in overtime, but Broadhead scored the final four points of the period, including a desperation heave with 0.06 left on the clock to force a second overtime.
“You have to shoot a three when you are down by three,” Broadhead said. “They gave me a little bit of a gap, and I just pulled up and shot it. There were a lot of prayers, and it went in.”
Makenzi Pulsipher supplied 15 points and five rebounds to help the Cougars (13-7, 7-2 WCC) keep ahold of first place in the conference standings.
Former Cyprus High star Lori Parkinson had 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for Santa Clara (9-11, 4-5 WCC) and Emily Wolph had 22 points for the Broncos.
“This game was very similar to the game at their place,” said BYU coach Jeff Judkins, whose team lost to Santa Clara 64-63 in the WCC opener Dec. 29. “All of a sudden, they started throwing stuff up like they did tonight. They got us out of zone, and started driving us and fouling.
“We got out of rhythm.”
Broadhead went to work in the second extra session. Broadhead opened the scoring with a step-back jumper 28 seconds into double OT, then dished to Amanda Wayment for an easy lay-in that gave the Cougars a 69-65 lead they would never relinquish.
The Cougars outscored the Broncos 7-1 in the final period.
“I play with emotion, and I was a little mad we were going into double overtime,” Broadhead said. “But I knew we had to be aggressive, all five of us. In that first overtime, they set the pace instead of us.”
Broadhead hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to cap three-straight scoring possessions for the New York native as BYU used a 10-0 run for a 41-26 lead with 5:58 left in the third quarter.
The Cougars led by as many as 15 points in the second half, and appeared ready to cruise to the victory.
After making just two field goals in the third quarter, Santa Clara caught fire in the final four minutes of regulation.
Parkinson drained a triple to bring the Broncos within single digits, 57-50, with 3:21 left in the game. The West Valley City native dropped in a jumper moments later, then Wolph ended regulation with five-straight points to force overtime.
Kristine Nielson dropped her first 3-pointer of the game with 11 seconds left in overtime to pull the Cougars within one, 63-62. After Wolph knocked down a pair of free throws, Broadhead raced up the court and beat the buzzer to force double overtime.
But the shot wouldn’t have mattered without Nielson’s first triple of the night.
“When Cassie went off and took two people with her, I knew I had an open shot,” said Nielson, who made just 1-of-5 shots and finished with six points and six rebounds. “I hesitated and then just stepped back and shot it. I was grateful it went in. The ball wasn’t dropping for me tonight, but I’m grateful Cassie and my teammates believed in me to make that shot.”
The Cougars shot just 18 percent from the field in the first quarter, but took a 31-24 lead at halftime when freshman Brenna Chase capped a 7-0 run with a transition runner in the final minute of the half.
Broadhead scored on three-straight possessions, and the Cougars powered through a 16-2 run to take a 41-26 advantage with 5:58 left in the third quarter.
But the Broncos outscored the home team 27-14 in a frantic finish to force overtime.
“To see that we dug ourselves in a hole was tough,” Nielson said. “But we knew the first two minutes were important … and we went ice cold. We believed that this wasn’t happening again. We let it slip a first time, and it wasn’t happening again.
“We never doubted that it was going to go our way.”
