Nov. 28, 2003

Box Score

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, a 64-57 overtime defeat to the Bradley Braves in the opening round of the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic from McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels were lead by freshman forward Eghosa Obaiza as she recorded her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebound.

Saint Mary's scored the opening basket of the game and never trailed until the overtime period. In the five-minute overtime session, Bradley took its first lead of the game three seconds period. A basket by Alex Liberatore gave the Braves a 54-52 lead. Bradley extended its lead to 58-52, before SMC ran off five straight points to cut the lead to 58-57 with 2:36 left. Bradley stepped up its defense and hold on for its first win of the season. The loss dropped Saint Mary's to 2-1 and Bradley improved the 1-2 with the win.

Freshmen were key to the early success for the Gaels. Following Obiaza's double-double, Serena Benavente scored 10 points and had six steals and Lauren Shaughnessy had nine points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Triola Jackson added 11 points in 27 minutes.

The Gaels opened a 22-6 lead midway through the opening half. Leading 5-4, Saint Mary's used a 17-2 run to open a 16-point advantage following two free throws by Serena Benavente. Benavente finished the game with 10 points and added a game-high six steals. The remaining 10 minutes of the first half, Bradley chipped away at the Gaels' lead, and cut the deficit to 24-19 with 3:07 left until the intermission. Saint Mary' scored the final three points of the half for a double-digit lead (29-19) at halftime.

The Gaels lead hovered around double digits for most of the second half, before the Braves cut the lead to 40-35 with just over eight minutes left in regulation. Saint Mary's held a 50-42 lead with 1:36 left to play, but a 10-2 run by the Braves over that span knotted the game at 52-52 after 40 minutes. After Va'Nicia Waterman hit two free throws to tie the game with seconds remaining, Benavente's shot at the buzzer rimmed out, sending the game into overtime.

Saint Mary's will play in the consolation game on Saturday against Weber State, which was defeated by Miami in the first game of the tournament. The game will tip-off at 7:05 PM or 30 minutes following the championship game which will begin at 5 p.m. between Miami and Bradley. The advanced to the championship game by defeating the Wildcats 82-60 in the opening game of the tournament. Three players from Miami scored in double figures with Shaquana Wilkins scoring a tournament-high 22 points.