MORAGA, Calif. — West Coast Conference play began with a bang on Wednesday afternoon as Saint Mary's hosted Pacific inside University Credit Union Pavilion. In a similar fashion to last year's game in Moraga that went to overtime, both teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation. The shots kept falling for Pacific in the overtime period and the Tigers walked away winners by a final of 78-70. With the win, the Tigers are now 3-1 (1-0) while the Gaels fall to 2-5 (0-1).
 
ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Wednesday's WCC opener was full of defensive action, as neither team could find their rhythm for the duration of the first half. The Gaels and Tigers combined to score only 18 points in the first quarter. Both teams' defenses were stout early on as Saint Mary's was just 2-of-14 in the period while the Tigers went 5-of-20. Both of the Gaels' makes were from beyond the arc during the opening frame, and they went into halftime having made just seven shots, adding up to 23% in the first half. The Tigers were not much better, shooting at just 31% from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
 
PULLING AHEAD, PULLING CLOSE
Things began to get precarious in the second half as Pacific pulled ahead by 15 midway through the third quarter but the Gaels immediately responded with a 12-0 run of their own to cut the deficit down to just three. Madeline Holland and Brianna Simonich each had four points in the run. Alas, Saint Mary's could not pull any closer in the third and eventually took a six-point deficit into the fourth quarter.
 
THE CATCH
The Gaels again fell behind early in the fourth quarter, with the deficit climbing to nine points before Saint Mary's began chipping away. Finau Tonga used three great moves in the paint to toss up three layups, eventually making it just a one-point Tigers lead with just over three minutes remaining. What seemed like it could be the winner came from Jade Kirisome, who knocked down a corner three with less than a minute to go, giving Saint Mary's a 63-61. Valerie Higgins for Pacific responded with a shot in the paint, and the game went to overtime at 63-63.
 
OVERTIME
Saint Mary's allowed the first five points of overtime, but once again showed resiliency in making it a two-point game after Taycee Wedin (game-best 15 points for SMC) knocked down a triple from the top of the arc. Tayla Dalton hit a layup with just over one minute left on the clock to keep it at a one-possession game, but fouls ultimately did the Gaels in down the stretch.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels hit the road for the first time in WCC play following the turn of the calendar into 2021, as Saint Mary's plays #23 Gonzaga on January 2 with a tip-off time of 2:00 pm. The back half of that road trip will feature a date with the defending conference champions, Portland, on January 4.
 
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