WBB | Gaels Put Up Strong Effort Against No. 14 NC State

Sunday, November 24

Moraga, Calif.

2:00 p.m.

Saint Mary's College of California

2-3,0-0WCC

NC State

5-0,0-0ACC

NC State

Saint Mary's (CA)

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

WBB | Gaels Put Up Strong Effort Against No. 14 NC State

11/24/2019 6:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's kept it close with No. 14 NC State on Sunday, but were ultimately overcome in a 87-70 decision.

HOW IT HAPPENED

QUARTER 1 | NC State put up the first few points of the contest before Sam Simons would respond with her first three-pointer of the contest. Simons continued to add points to the board as she landed another layup to cut the Gaels' deficit to two. The Gaels then went on to steal the lead from the nationally ranked team as Tyra Moe drained a trey to put Saint Mary's up 8-7. SMC held the lead for over a minute of action before the Wolfpack scored a three to surpass the Gaels and NC State would go on to maintain the lead for the remainder of the quarter. In the last two minutes of action, back-to-back three-pointers from Wedin and Emily Codding cut the Gaels' deficit to five. A jumper from the Wolfpack in the final 13 seconds would end the period with NC State atop Saint Mary's 24-17.
QUARTER 2 | The Wolfpack got the scoring started in the second quarter but Saint Mary's managed to keep the score within a 10-point margin as Moe nailed her second three-pointer of the contest followed by a solid layup from Emily Codding. Madeline Holland immediately responded with a layup of her own to cut the Gaels' deficit to nine. Both teams continued to exchange buckets throughout the period before Simons drilled her third trey of the contest in the final minutes of the quarter. Following a jumper from the Wolfpack, NC State finished the period with a 41-32 lead over SMC.
QUARTER 3 | The Gaels and the Wolfpack stepped up defensively in the third quarter as neither team was able to score until three minutes had gone by. NC State broke open a 12-3 run over the next four minutes of action to extend their lead over Saint Mary's to 20 points. Free throws from Claire Ferguson and a three-pointer from Emily Codding snapped the streak from the Wolfpack that began a 10-2 run for SMC. NC State would land a trey and a layup just before the end of the period to slow the Gaels momentum and go into the final frame with the 63-45 advantage.
QUARTER 4 | NC State scored the first points of the fourth quarter, however Simons would hit a three-pointer shortly after to begin the scoring from SMC. The Gaels would go on to outscore the Wolfpack 25 to 23 in the final period with Taycee Wedin contributing 11 points in the last 10 minutes for a new-season high on the night. NC State went on an 8-0 run from the eighth minute to the sixth minute that gave them their largest lead of the night (25 points), but the Gaels would respond with a 9-2 run of their own. With just under five minutes to go in the contest, SMC and NC State traded buckets back and forth, but the Wolfpack maintained the steady lead. NC State would go on to win the matchup 87-70, which is the most points they have given up thus far this year.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

20: Taycee Wedin recorded a season-high 20 points in Sunday's contest
7: Total number of steals for the Gaels, good for a new season-high
70: Most points NC State has given up all season by a margin of 26 points
20: Points recorded off of turnovers for Saint Mary's, compared to NC State who only scored five

COMING UP

The Gaels will host the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 29-30 and will face off against Marquette and Western Kentucky.

#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home basketball games, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.