SAN DIEGO - Saint Mary's Women's Basketball defeated the University of San Diego 79-71 on Thursday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion to improve to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in WCC play.

FAST START
The Gaels jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game as their defensive intensity was high early on. Saint Mary's also displayed great ball movement all night, with a perfect example coming right before Tayla Dalton's three pointer that made it 7-0 Gaels with just under six minutes to go in the opening quarter, as the Gaels made the extra pass to get the best shot all game. SMC led 16-5 after the first quarter, keeping San Diego to just 15% shooting from the field while shooting 43% from the floor themselves.
 
HANDLING THE PRESSURE
But the Toreros increased their defensive pressure with about six minutes to go in the first half, even trapping the Gaels in the back court. San Diego cut it to three with just under five minutes to go in the half as the Gaels had three more turnovers than San Diego, which led to six points off those turnovers for the Toreros. San Diego was also 8 of 10 from the free throw line in the second quarter compared to 5 of 6 from the line for Saint Mary's, but the Gaels had a five-point lead at the break at 31-26.

The Toreros broke out the full court press in the third quarter, but for most of the period the Gaels were able to keep ahold of their lead. That would change as San Diego took their first lead of the game on a three pointer with 3:23 to go in the third. Taycee Wedin answered with a long two, but a turnover right after that led to lead going right back to Toreros and they would finish the third quarter up 52-49 as the Gaels committed eight turnovers in the third that San Diego scored 12 points off of.
 
FINISHING STRONG
But the Gaels had their best offensive quarter of the night in the fourth, as Ali Bamberger got the lead back for Saint Mary's with 8:25 to go. She would give the Gaels the lead again for good with 6:27 to go in the game.
 
Then the Gaels would catch fire from deep. Wedin would hit a three to make it 62-56 with 5:17 left to play, Jade Kirisome hit a big three from the wing with 4:45 left, and right after that Holland hit one from the top of the key to put the Gaels up 68-56 with just over four minutes remaining to cap off a 13-0 run by Saint Mary's. Wedin would hit two more threes to put the Gaels up 74-57 with just over three minutes remaining, and Dalton would tack on another three for the final nail in the coffin with 2:17 left and the Gaels up 77-60.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Holland recorded her second double-double of the year, scoring a season-high 18 points with 10 rebounds and a team-leading six assists. Bamberger led all scorers with 21 points to go along with eight boards, while Dalton finished with 14 points and a team-leading three steals.
 
The Gaels shot 53% from the field on the night, the fourth time they've shot 50% or higher in a game this season, and they are a perfect 4-0 when they do. Saint Mary's was 19 of 24 from the charity stripe as well and 59% from downtown. They shot 71% from the field in the fourth quarter and were 6 of 7 from three-point range in the final quarter alone. SMC out rebounded San Diego 36-34 making them 7-1 on the season when the win the rebounding battle.
 
WEDIN WATCH
Taycee Wedin had 14 points to go along with five assists and went three of seven from behind the arc. That means she needs just three more three pointers to tie the program record of 268.

UP NEXT
The Gaels return home to take on Gonzaga at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 22 in UCU 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