SALT LAKE CITY - The Saint Mary's Women's Basketball team had one of those nights where the shots just wouldn't fall in a 92-50 loss to the University of Utah on Tuesday night.

The Gaels got the scoring starting in the game when Amy West drove to the basket and scored on a right-handed layup. After that, Utah would go on a 9-0 run that Taycee Wedin would stop with a three pointer with just under five minutes to go in the quarter.

Out of the ensuing timeout, an offensive rebound gave Utah a second-chance three pointer to extend their lead to 12-5. That was followed by a charging call against Makena Mastora and a turnover between Leia Hanafin & Mia Grizelj. Pair those turnovers with a 1 for 10 stretch for the Gaels and it led to an over eight-minute drought without a field goal that stretched between the first and second quarters. Mastora would break the drought at 6:29 mark of the second quarter with a nice driving layup, but Utah had built a 29-8 lead at that point.
 
The Gaels would get decent looks that just wouldn't go down, exemplified by a Wedin three that rimmed out with 4:30 to go in the half. Aspen Garrison ended a two-plus minute drought to get the Gaels to crack double figures with four minutes to go in half with the Gaels down 34-10.

But the start of the second half would have a different feel for the Gaels even though they trailed 49-15 at the break. Wedin hit two threes to start second half and Garrison, Ali Bamberger, and Tayla Dalton all scored in the paint as the Gaels won the third quarter by a score of 21-16. It was the first time Utah was outscored in a quarter this year after averaging 102 points over their first two games. The fourth quarter would unfortunately be a return to how the first half went as Utah kept their foot on the pedal en route to the win.

Garrison led the Gaels in scoring with 10 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds as she and Brianna Simonich each pulled down six boards. Saint Mary's was just 33% from the field to Utah's 53% and shot 14% from three-point range to the Utes 32%. Though the Gaels boxed out well, they often couldn't quite haul in the boards after getting positioning as they were out rebounded 45-34.

UP NEXT
The Gaels will play their home opener on Saturday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. against Western Michigan at University Credit Union Pavilion.

#GaelsRise — 2021-22 tickets and ticket packages are on sale now! To purchase tickets, click HERE. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689…Saint Mary's Basketball…#TogetherAgain