LARAMIE, Wyoming – The Saint Mary's women's basketball team overcame a slow start and a 15-point deficit on the road to defeat Wyoming 70-64 in front of 2,423 Cowgirl fans on Friday night.
"We pulled out a very tough win tonight against a motivated Wyoming team," said head coach Paul Thomas.
The Gaels fell behind by 15 in the second quarter but used a 17-2 run to end the half to tie the game. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter as the Gaels ended the game on an 11-2 run to capture the victory in a tough environment.
The Gaels (3-0) had five players in double figures led by Sydney Raggio with 16 points, all coming in the second half. Devon Brookshire scored 15 points and keyed the first-half run with a pair of three-pointers.
Shannon Mauldin was once again a multiple statistics filler with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hannah Kaser came off the bench to score 11 points, including a game-tying three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Stella Beck added 10 points with a team-high tying seven rebounds.
The Gaels also received a confidence lift when 2014-15 leading scorer Lauren Nicholson returned, seeing her first action of the year. Nicholson scored five points in 10 minutes off the bench, including drawing a key foul down the stretch and converting the free-throws.
Wyoming (1-1) was led by Marquelle Dent, the preseason MW Player of the Year, with 21 points.
The Gaels ended the first-half on a 17-2 which included a pair of three-pointers by Brookshire. The run lasted the final 6:33 of the half. SMC and Wyoming were tied 30-30 at half despite the Gaels trailing 23-14 on the glass.
SMC had the momentum through the third quarter, building a four point lead which Wyoming quickly halted in the fourth.
Wyoming started the 4th quarter with back-to-back threes and took the lead quickly. As Wyoming extended its lead, Kaser came back with an and-one and later a three-pointer to tie the game at 56-56, with 5:34 remaining.
With the scored tied at 59-59, the Cowgirls scored the next three points to lead 62-59 with 2:29 left. Raggio converted a jumper to pull SMC within one and the Gaels forced a turnover at the other end with 1:52 left. Mauldin would convert a pair of free-throws to give SMC back the lead at 63-62 with 1:32 left.
The Gaels forced a shot clock violation with 53 seconds left and had the ball and a one point lead. Nicholson drove the lane and was fouled with 36 seconds left and made both free-throws to give SMC a three point lead. The Gaels used a 10-0 run in the final minutes and ended the game on a 11-2 run after trailing 62-59.
Saint Mary's is back in action on Sunday when it takes on Northern Colorado in Greeley at 5:00 PM (PT).
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