SAN DIEGO — With the long weekend of basketball away from home concluding, the Gaels took on the University of San Diego. With the Toreros sitting in second place in the standings, the Gaels needed to win to keep hopes of second place alive. Unfortunately, the could not climb out of an early deficit and fell 73-59, dropping their record to 11-15 overall.
 
MORE WITH MORE
 
While shooting percentages can at times be deceptive in basketball, shot attempts can usually rectify any odd discrepancies within the numbers. That was the case on Saturday, as the Gaels were out-shot by 23 in the contest, despite outshooting the Toreros by roughly 3% (47.1% as a team). San Diego grabbed eight more offensive rebounds, and the Gaels committed 16 more turnovers, leading to the large different in shot attempts.
 
BATTLE DOWN LOW
 
The Gaels are a bit of an undersized team, and while they did receive a strong nine-rebound performance from Claire Ferguson, they struggled in the contest to defend the Toreros in the paint. San Diego scored 52 of its 73 points in the paint, while the Gaels managed just 26 by the end of the game. Six different Gaels did manage to get at least three rebounds in the contest, with Brianna Simonich and Taycee Wedin each grabbing five to complement Ferguson.
 
SECOND HALF IMPROVEMENTS
 
While the final score might not suggest it, the Gaels did play a much better game in the second half. SMC scored 36 points in the second stanza, including 18 in both quarters. The Gaels shot 15-27 in the final 20 minutes, and managed to hold the Toreros without a single three-point shot made in the entire contest, going 0-11 in the game. Meanwhile, Wedin was able to finish with 17 points after a strong second half, and Sam Simons finished the game an even-50% from the field and 16 points.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Gaels return to Northern California for the final two weeks of the regular season, but with just one game on the schedule next weekend. SMC will take on the University of the Pacific on Saturday at 2:00 pm in Stockton for their final road game of the season.
 
#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.