MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball ran into the high-scoring offense of St. Thomas of Minnesota on Tuesday night in a 74-60 loss in UCU Pavilion.
 
The Gaels held the Tommies to 6 of 16 shooting (37.5%) in the first quarter that SMC won 16-14. But in the second quarter Saint Mary's had trouble containing the quick passing and outside shooting of St. Thomas with their zone defense. The Gaels were often chasing down an open shooter or caught helping a teammate that would leave a Tommie open.
 
In that big second quarter for St. Thomas, they shot 68.8% (11 of 16) from the field. SMC shot 50% themselves (7 of 14) in the second quarter, but were 1 of 6 on threes, with St. Thomas taking the quarter 25-16. Even with that explosive second for the Tommies, the Gaels trailed by just seven at the half.
 
The second half started with an 8-0 for the Tommies, but Saint Mary's would claw back with a 7-0 run of their own. In the final minute plus of the third, however, St. Thomas would get their lead up to 12 before Zeryhia Aokuso hit a runner in the lane as time expired to cut back to 10 at 59-49.
 
That would be the story of the fourth quarter as well, as the Tommies did just enough to extend their lead by a few points in the third and fourth quarters, mainly with their outside shooting. St. Thomas shot 6 of 12 from three-point range in the second half, and won the rebounding battle 20-15.
 
The Gaels were never able to trim the deficit below 12 in the fourth quarter, with the Tommies taking the final frame 15-11. St. Thomas would shoot 50% for the game as well to SMC's 39.7%, hitting three more threes than the Gaels on the night.
 
Aokuso finished the game with a team-high 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting, and Tayla Dalton finished with 10 points while going 4 of 8 from the field.
 
UP NEXT:
The Gaels will begin the Thanksgiving Classic by hosting North Carolina A&T on Friday, November 24 at 6:00 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.