MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball got back into the win column on Thursday night at UCU Pavilion with a 78-73 win over the Santa Clara Broncos that featured senior Taycee Wedin taking sole possession of the program's career three-point record.
 
The Gaels improved to 10-10 overall and 4-5 in WCC play which puts them in a tie with the Broncos (10-9, 4-5) for the five spot in the West Coast Conference standings.
 
TAKING CONTROL EARLY
The Gaels never trailed by more than four points in the game and never trailed again after an Ali Bamberger three pointer to put Saint Mary's up by two with a little over two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
 
That was followed by Wedin hitting her 269^th career three pointer on SMC's next possession with just over a minute to go in the first, putting the Gaels up 21-16 and moving Wedin past Jontelle Smith's career mark of 268 threes.
 
Saint Mary's was up by three after one quarter of play and got out to their largest lead of the game at 11 points with two minutes to go in the first half after a Makena Mastora three pointer, and the SMC remained up by six at the half.
 
GAELS HAD ALL THE ANSWERS
The third quarter was a defensive battle with each team's shooting percentage in the twenties as both teams played the passing lanes well and drew offensive fouls. Santa Clara outscored the Gaels 15-11 in the quarter and cut the home team's lead down to two after three quarters of play.
 
The fourth quarter was the exact opposite of the third as the offenses came back to life with the Gaels outscoring the Broncos 29-26 in the final quarter. Saint Mary's shot 47% from the field in the quarter and Santa Clara shot 53%, but the Gaels hit one more three pointer than the Broncos and were a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line to put the game away.
 
Santa Clara tied the game twice in the fourth, but Saint Mary's never relinquished the lead. Aspen Garrison answered the bell after the first time the Broncos tied it up with a jumper in the lane after Tayla Dalton drew defenders to her under the basket that left Garrison open. Dalton would break the next tie with a three pointer after Madeline Holland had defenders collapse on her this time before kicking out to Dalton.
 
The Gaels would continue to respond every time the Broncos would make it a one-possession game. The Broncos cut it to two with under four-and-a-half minutes remaining, but Wedin answered with a three. Jade Kirisome hit a three from the wing when the Broncos cut it to two with 1:27 remaining, Holland crossed over a defender and drove inside for a layup when the Broncos cut it to three with 26 seconds left, and from there the Gaels would seal the deal with their perfect free throw shooting after the Broncos cut it to one with 20 seconds left.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Saint Mary's had four players finish in double figures scoring. Wedin led the team with 14 points as she got into a shooting groove after breaking the three-point record, going 4 of 8 from downtown on the night. Kirisome finished with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting including 3 of 5 from behind the arc, as she and Wedin each snapped out of shooting slumps in a big way.
 
Dalton had 12 points and five rebounds for her seventh game scoring in double figures this season, and Bamberger racked up her fifth double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 boards. Holland narrowly missed her fourth double-double finishing with eight points and a team-leading eight assists.
 
The Gaels outshot the Broncos 46% to 40.4% and both teams were lights out from downtown, as the Broncos shot 50% from three-point range while the Gaels shot 54.2% from deep. Saint Mary's won the rebounding battle by three and committed two less turnovers than the Santa Clara.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will take on the University of the Pacific on Saturday, February 5 at 2:00 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.
 
#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