Saturday, November 26
McKeon Pavilion
7:05 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
69
vs
59
$Butler
Women's Basketball Wins Thanksgiving Tournament
11/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's women's basketball won the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday night, beating Butler 69-59 in the championship game at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels' tournament title is their first since they won it in 2000.
Saint Mary's was led offensively by Eghosa Obaiza, who came off the bench to score 16 points and grab eight rebounds and freshman Jontelle Smith had another solid game, scoring 10 points and adding five assists.
Smith, who scored 20 points on Friday night, was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, and Obaiza was named to the All-Tournament Team. Obaiza had nine points and four rebounds on Friday night.
The All-Tournament Team was rounded out by Central Florida's Francine Houston, Princeton's Jessica Berry and Butler's Lade Akande.
On Saturday night, the Gaels jumped out to a 38-20 lead at halftime, while shooting 46.7 percent in the opening half. The Gaels scored 31 points in the second half on 36.7 percent shooting, but 57.1 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The Gaels' defense was spectacular in the first half, holding Butler to 20 points on 22.7 percent shooting from the field and 9.1 percent shooting from 3-point range. Butler shot 32.7 percent for the game and 22.7 percent from 3-point range.
Saint Mary's also received nine points from Monica Mertle, eight points each from Evynn Van Burger and Mikaela Cowles and Sheridan Arredondo added six points and six rebounds.
The Gaels return to action on Thursday, December 1 when they travel to Southern California to face UC Riverside at 7 p.m.
Consolation Game
Princeton 91, Central Florida 87
The Tigers pulled out a high-scoring thriller, thanks to 25 points by Meagan Cowher. Jessica Berry also added 11 points and eight assists and Casey Lockwood had 17 points and six rebounds.
The Golden Knights were led by Francine Houston, who scored a game-high 27 points. Shayla Smith had 17 points, Shelby Weber had 14 points and LaShay King added 11 points.
Princeton went 1-1 in the tournament, while Central Florida went 0-2.
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