MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball led from the opening tip to the final buzzer in a 59-53 win over Montana State on Friday night. The Gaels largest lead was 18 early in the fourth quarter, before a 7-0 run by the Bobcats late in the contest the made the final score closer than the game really was.
 
SMC shot 47.9% from the field and kept Montana State to just 32.7% shooting on the night. Freshman Emily Foy led the Gaels with 15 points on five three pointers for her first collegiate game in double figures scoring.
 
LEADING WIRE TO WIRE
The Gaels scored five seconds into the game as Ali Bamberger tapped the opening tip to Zeryhia Aokuso before she hit a pull-up jumper, and they would slowly build their lead from there.
 
They led 14-11 after the first quarter, and kept the Bobcats to just eight points in the second to lead 30-19 at the half. Foy's second three pointer of the night put Saint Mary's up by eight early in the second quarter, and Ali Bamberger's first bucket of the game gave the Gaels their first double-digit lead at 21-11 with 6:35 to go in the half.
 
The Bobcats trimmed it to seven with just under two minutes to go in the quarter, but a floater from Tayla Dalton and a layup from Addison Wedin pushed it back to 11 after SMC kept Montana State to just 3 of 11 shooting in the second quarter.
 
OH FOY
Foy's fifth three of the night would balloon the Saint Mary's lead up to 17 with 4:50 to go in the third, and the Gaels would lead by 14 at the end of the quarter. A three pointer from Makena Mastora would give SMC their largest lead of the night at 53-35 with 8:35 left to play.
 
Montana State would crank up their full-court pressure as the Gaels tried to used up clock and forced Saint Mary's into eight turnovers in the fourth, which got to within single digits with just under three minutes left to play.
 
The final score was academic though, as the Gaels led by nine and let the shot clock run out with .8 seconds remaining before the Bobcats hit a three pointer as time expired to make it a 59-53 final.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
All of Foy's points came from three pointers, as she finished 5 of 11 from downtown to go along with three rebounds. Bamberger had 11 points and a game-high nine boards and five assists, and Aokuso also had 11 points.
 
UP NEXT:
Saint Mary's will make the short trip up to UC Davis to take on the Aggies at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 10.
 
#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.