Paula Haw takes a tough shot against Santa Clara. Sac State Athletics photo.

Despite fighting valiantly for their first win, Sacramento State fell just short of upsetting Santa Clara, who prevailed 70-65 Wednesday.

The Broncos started the game on a quick 7-0 run, but the Hornets battled back with a tough zone defense, forcing their opponents to shoot from the outside, and only trailed 20-15 after one. 

Sac State continued their strong play in the second quarter, with defense in outside shooting, and trailed 30-29 at the half. Solape Amusan came off the bench to lead the charge with nine points; both the Hornets and the Broncos hit six threes in the first half.

“We did a great job playing together and spacing the floor,” Sac State coach Aaron Kallhoff said.

The Hornets came out hot in the second half, shooting 64 percent from the field, and outrebounding their opponents, 11-2. They got 10 points from their bench and six points from Benthe Versteeg to take a 49-45 lead into the final frame.

Sac State then hit two straight threes by Amusan and Summah Hanson. In the middle of the quarter, the Broncos went on 8-0 run to tie the game at 55, with 5:09 left. The run turned into a 17-0 run for Santa Clara.

After going down 64-55, the Hornets answered back with an 8-0 run to cut the…