LOS ANGELES – Taycee Wedin tied the program record for three pointers and the Gaels got big nights from Ali Bamberger and Madeline Holland, but dropped to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in WCC play after a 73-62 road loss to Loyola Marymount, tying the season at 1-1 between the two teams.
 
For the second-straight game the Gaels struggled in the second quarter, which put them in a tough spot against the Lions needing to claw their way back into the game the entire second half.
 
Saint Mary's trailed by just one point after the first quarter, but were outscored 18-9 in the second quarter by the Lions after being outscored 17-7 by USF in the second quarter on Thursday as well. The Gaels shot just 25% from the field and 1 for 4 from downtown in the second quarter while the Lions were a whopping 8 for 10 from the field and 2 for 2 from three-point range, as SMC found themselves down by 10 at the half.
 
But the Gaels stormed out of the gates for a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, trimming the deficit down to four at 33-29 after a Tayla Dalton steal and layup just over a minute into the third quarter. The Lions would slowly extend their lead back to double digits, however, capitalizing on four Gaels turnovers to go up by 13 on a momentum-capturing three pointer to make it 47-34 Lions with a little over two minutes remaining in the quarter.
 
LMU built their largest lead of the night of 14 points with 8:35 remaining in the game, but the Gaels would mount another comeback. A Tayla Dalton layup after a Jade Kirisome steal made it a 55-46 game to get it under double digits with 7:19 to go.
 
Holland's strong drive to the bucket after a Dalton steal made it 60-54 and that was immediately followed by a Makena Mastora steal and layup to make it a 60-56 with just over three minutes left to play. But that was followed by a turnover, a foul, a missed three, and another foul on a layup by the Lions and they would convert the free throw to make it a 66-56 game with 1:56 remaining.
 
The Gaels wouldn't let that be the final nail in the coffin though, as Taycee Wedin hit a three pointer to tie Jontelle Smith's program record of 268 threes and cut the lead back down to six at 68-62 with 1:13 left. But the Lions would make their free throws down the stretch and the Gaels weren't able to hit their next two three-point shots in the final minute to seal the 73-62 win for LMU.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Bamberger finished with 20 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Holland also scored 20 points to go along with five boards and team-high four assists. Dalton again narrowly missed scoring in double figures with nine points. Wedin will look to take over the program lead in career three pointers in Mondays' make-up game with Pepperdine.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will remain in Southern California as they'll play the Pepperdine Waves at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 31 in Malibu. The game is rescheduled contest from the New Years Day game that was postponed due to health and safety protocols.