Gonzaga Women's Basketball: 3 keys to getting revenge vs Santa Clara Broncos

The Gonzaga Women's Basketball team has arguably its toughest game left coming up with a game against Santa Clara. Can the Bulldogs find a way to get revenge for last year's loss?

Few programs consistently dominate their conference on either the men's or women's side more than Gonzaga Women's Basketball. They're off to one of its greatest starts ever, 14-2 (1-0) and ranked No. 16 in the latest AP poll.

The Bulldogs opened WCC play with a tough road game against Portland, a team who defeated them in the conference title game to get the autobid a year ago. This time around, an early double-digit lead allowed Gonzaga to get some revenge, winning 74-53. Brynna Maxwell had a game-high 21 points, along with 18 from Yvonne Ejim.

Yet on paper, Gonzaga takes on its toughest WCC opponent, Santa Clara. The Broncos were the only team to beat the Bulldogs in league play last season, winning a surprise 77-72 upset win. On the season, Santa Clara is 13-3 (1-0), including wins over Boise State and Oregon. They also won their WCC opener last week, beating Pacific, 80-77. Tess Heal had a career-high 30 points to lead the way.

Considering that Portland and Santa Clara are viewed as the toughest opponents for Gonzaga, a win here could make the Bulldogs big favorites to win out the rest of the way, guaranteeing a top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. As for Santa Clara, they likely need a win against Gonzaga to feel good about it's own at-large hopes in March.

Here are the keys for Gonzaga getting a big road win.