SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Saint Mary's women's basketball team led by as many as 22 and hit 12 three-pointers to give SMC a 78-68 win over San Francisco in the West Coast Conference opener for both squads.
The win was the Gaels' 14th win in the last 16 meetings with the Dons. Saint Mary's improves to 10-2, 1-0 WCC while San Francisco drops to 9-3, 0-1.
We won tonight because we shot the ball effectively from the three-point line," said head coach Paul Thomas. "Although we have very good shooters, that's not the foundation of our game. We had a great third quarter and we are now 1-0 in league. We have lots of room for improvement."
The Gaels were outrebounded for just the third time this season and only converted 16-for-27 from the charity stripe.
Saint Mary's used strong outside shooting to defeat the Dons, converting 12-for-24 from three-point range. SMC had 10 successful three-pointers in the first-half.
Devon Brookshire poured in 19 points with a nine point first-quarter. Devyn Galland added 15 points hitting a team-high four-three pointers. Stella Beck added 11 points and nine rebounds. Beck teamed with Sydney Raggio to lock-up USF leading scorer Taylor Proctor most of the night. SMC held Proctor to four points before she added points with the game out of reach.
The Gaels started the first quarter unconventionally for SMC women's hoops, converting a trio of three-pointers for their first nine points. SMC led 14-8 at the first media timeout. SMC would go on to convert six three-pointers in the first quarter and lead 20-15.
SMC would lead by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, but USF ended the half on a run to close within 43-37 at the break.
Saint Mary's started the 3rd quarter on a 10-0 run in the first three minutes to lead 53-37. After USF came within 13 points, SMC went up by 17 after Galland hit a pair of free-throws. SMC led 62-49 at the end of the third.
In the fourth period, Brookshire hit a jumper from the top of the key to push SMC ahead 67-49 at the 6:45 mark. After the Dons cut the deficit down to 15, the Gaels would quickly extend the lead to 70-51 with 3:57 remaining after a Brookshire offensive rebound and score. SMC would lead by as many as 22 with 2:39 remaining before the Gaels emptied their bench.
Saint Mary's shot 47 percent from the field and outscored the USF bench 37-26.
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