WBK | Second Half Comeback Falls Just Short In WNIT

Thursday, March 15

Albuquerque, N.M.

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

New Mexico

Stella Beck finished the final game of her Saint Mary's career with a double-double, scoring a team-high 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

WBK | Second Half Comeback Falls Just Short In WNIT

3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

March 15, 2018

Final Stats

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team fought all the way back Thursday from being down by as much as 15 points in the second half, scoring 50 after halftime, but host New Mexico held on to edge the Gaels, 82-80, in the first round of the 2018 Women's National Invitational Tournament at the Johnson Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Saint Mary's (20-11) trailed by 15 at 45-30, 1 minute, 37 seconds into the third quarter after the Lobos (24-10) scored five straight points to start the second half. But the Gaels would cut it all the way back down to eight, thanks in large part to Stella Beck, who scored 12 of her team-high 29 points in the third period alone. She would score 10 more in the fourth to finish with 22 after halftime.
It was Beck who would give the Gaels their first - and only - lead of the game with 4:08 to play. Beck hit two free throws after a New Mexico player was called for a technical foul, making it 69-68 and completing a 10-point fourth quarter comeback, and a 15-point second half comeback.
But the Gaels would turn the ball over on consecutive possessions after taking the lead, including after being handed the ball following the technical free throws. New Mexico took advantage of the turnovers in a big way, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to go back ahead for good at 74-69.
Saint Mary's cut the deficit back down to one possession four more times before the clock ran out, but couldn't close the final gap. New Mexico went just 5 for 10 from the free-throw line in the final minute of the game, but Saint Mary's missed three shot attempts in the final two minutes.
New Mexico lived beyond the 3-point line in the game, making 11 treys on 34 attempts. More than half of their attempted field goals were from deep. Saint Mary's outshot New Mexico 44.3 percent to 38.4 percent and vastly outrebounded them, 55-30, but 24 Gaels turnovers led to 30 New Mexico points, including 14 after halftime.
Saint Mary's struggled to get it going in the first quarter. New Mexico jumped out to a 17-8 lead thanks in part to seven SMC turnovers that led to eight points for the Lobos. The Gaels shot 55.6 percent in the period but just 37.5 percent (3 for 8) from the free-throw line. They would close the gap before the end of the period, trailing just 19-14 after one.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

10th: Beck's 29 points in her final game as a Gael lifted her into 10th place all-time in the Saint Mary's career scoring record book. She finishes her career with 1,439 points, four more than three-time first team all-West Coast Conference honoree Jermisha Dosty (1998-2002).
11: The Gaels missed 11 free throws (22 for 33) in what finished as a two-point game. Six different Gaels made trips to the free-throw line with four missing at least two free-throws.
55: The Gaels tied a season high with 55 rebounds. It was the second game in a row and fourth time this season they grabbed at least 50 boards.
80: Saint Mary's scored 80 points for the eighth time this season. It finishes the year with a 6-2 record when scoring at least that many. The Gaels also scored 80 in a defeat at No. 20/25 California to begin the season on Nov. 10.