HOUSTON – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball couldn't sustain a hot start at Rice and had a fourth quarter comeback come up short, falling 73-62 to the Owls on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Gaels led 20-11 after one quarter of play, buoyed by a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the quarter. Saint Mary's went 7 of 8 at the free-throw line and shot 6 of 14 from the field in that first frame, all while holding Rice to 26.3% shooting from the floor.
 
SMC got their lead up to 11 on a layup by Tayla Dalton and again on a basket by Ali Bamberger to go up 27-16 just three minutes into the second quarter. After Maia Jones hit a three to put the Gaels up 32-23, they would have a scoring drought for the next three-and-a-half minutes, and the Owls would go up 34-32 with under a minute to go in the half. Makena Mastora would break that drought with a three pointer, and the teams would go into halftime tied at 35.
 
Rice would keep their run going to start the third, scoring the first 10 points of the second half to go up 45-35. Another Jones three pointer snapped the scoreless streak, and a Zeryhia Aokuso turnaround jumper cut the deficit to five with 3:18 to go in the third at 45-40.
 
But the Owls hit back-to-back threes to extend their lead back up to 10 at the end of the third at 54-44. The Gaels were out rebounded nine to four in the quarter and committed three more turnovers than Rice.
 
Saint Mary's trailed by as many as 16 with 6:30 left to play, but they would make a game of it again with a 12-1 run in the fourth. A pair of Emily Foy three pointers cut the deficit to six points with just under two minutes left, and she had a chance to cut it to four before missing a layup. That unconverted opportunity would allow the Owls to settle things back down for the home team, as they hit a pair of free throws and a layup to push the lead back to 10 and ice the win for Rice.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Mastora and Jones led the team in scoring with 12 points each, as they both finished 2 of 3 from downtown. Dalton led the team with four assists and Bamberger was the Gaels' top rebounder with seven.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's returns home to host St. Thomas of Minnesota on Tuesday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m.
 
#GaelsRise — 2023-24 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.