ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? Santa Clara shot 48.1 percent from the field and connected on 11 three-pointers to top Bradley 69-61 at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Tuesday night.  Junior Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) led the Braves with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting off the bench.

The Braves (1-3 overall) and Broncos (3-1 overall) got a late start after the opening game in the tournament went into overtime before tournament-host and defending tournament champ Alaska Anchorage pulled out an 80-72 victory over Cleveland State.  The late start didn't cool off Santa Clara as the Broncos hit 25-of-52 shots from the field, including 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.  Santa Clara led the NCAA in three-point field goals per game last year, making nearly 8.5 trey's per game.

The Broncos led by as many as 11 points in the first half, before Bradley battled back to tie the score at 34-34 at the break.  Rogers stole the show in the first half, hitting 5-of-8 shots and 6-of-7 from the line.  She had 16 points, five boards, one assist and one steal in 10 minutes of play in the first half.

Santa Clara hit three three-pointers in the first 4:37 of the second half and regained its double-digit lead at 49-39 with 13:22 to play.  Bradley would rally to cut it to four points after a Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) basket with just under five minutes remaining. 

The Braves trailed 60-55 after another Van Kirk bucket, but Wasilla, Alaska, native Chandice Cronk would answer with a three-pointer from the wing to pus the Santa Clara lead back to eight points at 63-55 with 3:24 to play.  Bradley cut the Broncos advantage to six points (67-61) with less than 45 seconds on the clock, but the Braves would miss their final two shots and Jen Gottschalk made a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds to seal the victory for Santa Clara.

Despite being double-teamed most of the second half, Rogers scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second half to finish with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting.  She also added eight rebounds, one assist and three steals in 23 minutes off the bench.  Sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) was also in double figures with 12 points and five assists.  The duo combined for 39 of the Braves 61 points and hit 15-of-22 shots from the field.  Senior Devyn Flanagan (Riverton, Ill./Riverton) scored five points, but dished out a team-best six assists.

Gootschalk led Santa Clara with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, scoring 16 points in the second half of play.  Tracey Walker added 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as four Broncos scored in double figures.   Cronk (16 points) and Elizabeth Doren (11 points) were also in double figures as the quartet combined for 68 of Santa Clara's 69 points.

Bradley will play Cleveland State in the consolation game of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. (CST).  The championship game will feature Santa Clara and Alaska Anchorage at 8 p.m. (CST).