MORAGA, Calif. –  After a close, back-and-forth first half, the Gaels turned up the heat in the second half on Thursday night for an eventual 74-60 win over the San Diego Toreros.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• QUARTER 1 |  Madeline Holland scored the first layup on Thursday night in what would be a back-and-forth quarter. The Gaels and the Toreros traded buckets through the first five minutes of the period and held an 11-9 advantage over San Diego at the first media timeout. Megan McKay led the squad with four rebounds total and three rebounds before the first timeout. The Toreros then went on a 9-2 run, capped off by a jumper from Madison Pollock, who shot 2-for-3 with four points in the first, to take the lead. Shortly after, Emily Codding converted on two free throws to tie the game 15-15 just before the end of the first quarter.

 

• QUARTER 2 | San Diego came out and scored the first two points of the second quarter, but the Gaels tied the game again after two made free throws from Jasmine Forcadilla to bring it to 17-17. With 6:26 left in the period, Saint Mary's and San Diego continued to go point-for-point after layups from Sam Simons and McKay followed by another jumper from Pollock to bring the game to 21-21. The Toreros made a number of key baskets in the final minutes of the quarter, but a quick drive in the final seconds by Carly Turner led to a buzzer beater layup from Tyra Moe and the teams went into the half tied 25-25. McKay was the top producer for Saint Mary's in the first half, shooting 3-for-5 with six points and nine rebounds.

 

• QUARTER 3 | In her second career start, Simons got the third quarter started on the right note as she drilled a three from the right corner followed shortly by a three from Sydney Raggio to bring the score to 31-25. With just over five minutes left in the period, Saint Mary's brought their lead up to eight points, their largest of the game up to that moment. The Gaels kept up the offense and with 2:14 left in the period the score was 50-37 in favor of SMC. Saint Mary's turned up their outside shooting in the third quarter and went 4-for-8 from the 3-point line while holding San Diego to 0-for-1. Simons was the star of the third quarter as she went 4-for-5 with nine points and a three pointer.

 

• QUARTER 4 | Saint Mary's held a 56-41 advantage as the fourth quarter began and after three minutes of play, the Gaels had increased their lead to 22 points. The Toreros responded with a 9-1 run to bring the score to 67-53 after a pair of layups and a pair of jumpers. San Diego struggled to avoid fouls in the final quarter as they collected eight compared to SMC's three and ended the night with a total of 23. The two teams then went bucket-for-bucket in the final minutes of the game, but Saint Mary's was able to keep the Toreros on their heels as time expired and the Gaels won 74-60.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
 

• 60: The third lowest score for a Saint Mary's opponent this season.
• 44: Points in the paint for the Gaels.
• 51.4: Shooting percentage for SMC in the second half.
• 14: Season-high in rebounds for Megan McKay.
• 4: Number of Gaels who scored in the double-digits.

QUOTABLE

"We had a big third quarter which was good to see," said Paul Thomas. "All of them had good individual moments tonight which helped us come up big in the second half."

COMING UP

Saint Mary's will remain local for their upcoming game against BYU on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the ticket office at 925-631-4689.