LEXINGTON, Ky. – Saint Mary's won again at the Women's Basketball Invitational by taking down Bowling Green University 76-67 in the tournament semifinals. They'll play defending tournament champion Cleveland State at 4:30 p.m. PDT time on Sunday in the WBI Championship.
 
THE TURNING POINT
The game turned in the third quarter where the Gaels shot 64.7% and were 4 of 5 from three-point range. Taycee Wedin and Ali Bamberger each had eight points in a quarter the Gaels won by 10, didn't commit a turnover, and kept Bowling Green to 7 of 17 shooting.
 
A Wedin three gave SMC a 10-point lead with 5:39 to go in the third. The Falcons would get it back down to five with 2:23 to go in the quarter, but the Gaels bigs extended the lead back to double digits, with an Amy West hook shot putting Saint Mary's up by 11 going into the fourth.
 
Saint Mary's kept Bowling Green to 33% shooting in the final quarter and went basket-for-basket with the Falcons to prevent them from ever getting the lead below eight.
 
SECOND QUARTER COME BACK
It was another strong finish to a first half just as it was in game one. SMC trailed by eight with 5:23 to go in the second quarter before calling a timeout. Makena Mastora hit a three for the Gaels to cut it to five with 4:39 left in the half and hit a pair of free throws to take it down to four after a BGU basket.
 
A Wedin three pointer cut it to one, and a basket inside from the sharp shooter tied the game with just under two minutes to go in the half. Baskets by Bamberger and Tayla Dalton secured the one-point lead at halftime, as the Gaels had twice the rebounds of Bowling Green and went 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the second quarter.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Wedin had a game-high 24 points for her 10^th game of 20 or more the season. The second-leading scorer in the game was Ali Bamberger who had 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Madeline Holland had 10 points and 10 boards with a team-leading five assists for her fourth double-double of the season. Amy West pulled down at season-high 11 rebounds while  Mastora and Tayla Dalton each scored 10 points.
 
Saint Mary's shot 47.5% on the day and an eye-popping 10 of 19 from three-point range. They hit all 10 of their free throws and won the rebound battle 44-29 with an even assist to turnover ratio.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will take on Cleveland State at 4:30 p.m. In the WBI Championship.