SAN JOSE, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball remained perfect in program history against San Jose State, using a strong second half to improve to 11-0 all time against the Spartans and to 4-3 on the season.
 
The Gaels took over on the glass in the third, which helped them get out to a nine-point lead after a Leia Hanafin layup with 2:10 remaining in the quarter to cap a 7-0 run. The Spartans were leading in the rebounding battle at the half, before SMC had a 17-6 advantage in the third and 25-14 in the second half overall.
 
Saint Mary's got out to a 12-point lead just over two minutes into the fourth quarter, before SJSU trimmed it down to eight. But that would be as close as the Spartans would get, bringing it to an eight-point game for the last time with 3:56 remaining.
 
But a pair of free throws by point guard Clair Steele was followed by a beautiful give and go between Hannah Rapp and Taycee Wedin, as Rapp got the layup and a foul to push SMC's lead back to 13 with just under three minutes left to play.
 
A corner three pointer by Wedin off an inbound extended the lead to 15, and a layup by Tayla Dalton would seal the 15-point win with just 31 seconds to go.
 
It was a cold start for the Gaels before they warmed up, going 4 for 15 from the field and 1 of 9 from three-point range with nine turnovers in the first quarter. But Saint Mary's heated up in the second, going 5 for 9 from the floor and 2 for 5 from downtown.
 
The offensive turnaround was sparked by a Gaels defense that kept the Spartans to just 33 percent shooting on the night and a mere 1 for 15 from deep.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Gaels are now 4-0 when they out rebound their opponent, finishing with a 10-rebound lead (38-28) over the Spartans. They would finish at 41.8% shooting from the floor and 8 of 13 at the free-throw line.
 
Four Gaels finished in double figures in scoring, as Dalton had a season-high 13 points to lead SMC on 5 of 7 shooting overall and 3 for 5 on threes. Rapp had 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting, followed by 11 for Wedin, and 10 for Hanafin on 4 of 7 shooting and 2 of 3 from deep.
 
Rapp again led Saint Mary's in rebounds with nine, and Dalton tied her career high in rebounds with eight, matching her total against Pepperdine last January. Steele led the team in assists with six while committing just three turnovers.
 
Saint Mary's was without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Ali Bamberger, who sprained an ankle versus Kansas, making the win and rebounding advantage all the more impressive for SMC as other Gaels stepped up to fill the void.
 
The win was number 297 in the Saint Mary's Career for head coach Paul Thomas, as he approaches 300 wins at SMC.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels return home to face UC Davis this Saturday, December 3 at 5:00 p.m. in UCU Pavilion.