MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball battled all the way to the final buzzer, but fell short 60-57 to the Tigers in a Thursday night matchup to begin West Coast Conference play. 

The Gaels battled back from a 10-point deficit after the first quarter and took the lead in the third, but a cold fourth where SMC lost the turnover battle allowed the Tigers to escape with the win.

The Tigers went on their first run of the game with a 7-0 stretch over the Gaels to end the first quarter at 17-7. Their run was led by the Tigers shooting 61.5% from FG. 

Zeryhia Aokuso brought the energy quickly in the second quarter, as her jumper put an end to the Tigers' run from the first quarter. Senior, Tayla Dalton recorded her first points of the game with an easy layup and a bucket from the paint which cut the Tigers lead to four with seven minutes left in the second quarter, as Dalton led the Gaels on a 6-0 run of their own. 

Dalton knocked down a three with 28 seconds left in the second quarter followed by a quick layup by the Tigers to end the first half with Pacific up 32-29. 

The Gaels would shoot an impressive 69.2% compared to the Tigers 50% in the second quarter including 4 for 6 from the three point line. Saint Mary's also recorded four steals and three blocks in the second quarter alone. The spark plug, Dalton, led an energetic second quarter with nine points on a perfect 4 for 4 shooting in the first half.

Ruby Vlahov opened the second half with a layup cutting the Tigers lead down to two, and Aokuso knocked down a mid range jump shot to match the Tigers at 33-33 with 7:35 left in the third quarter. The freshman guard made another jump shot to give the Gaels their first lead of the night at 35-33 with 5:34 left in the third. 

Maia Jones nailed a three pointer, followed by a quick layup by Makena Mastora, and a three pointer by Ali Bamberger pushed the Gaels lead to eight with two minutes left in the third quarter. After a mid-range jump shot by Aokuso with only two seconds left in the third quarter, the Gaels carried a six point lead as they headed into the fourth quarter up 48-42. 

Tayla Dalton continued her big offensive night with a layup to begin the scoring for the Gaels in the fourth quarter. Her layup put the Gaels up four with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter. 

After a foul by Zeriyah Aokuso, two made free throws by the Tigers, and an open  three pointer by the Tigers, the Tigers picked up a four point lead over the Gaels. Tayla Dalton did not slow down as her layup cut the Tiger's lead to 56-54 with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter. 

The game came down to the final minute as the Tigers led 60-57 with one minute left in the game. Addi Wedin attempted a three with two seconds left, but it was just off iron and the Tigers secured the 60-57 victory over the Gaels. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

It was a good offensive night for the Gaels as seven players were on the scoreboard. Dalton finished with 13 points to lead the way for SMC after shooting 6-9 from FG and recording six assists. Aokuso was close behind her with 10 points and 5 assists. 

UP NEXT

Saint Mary's will continue conference play when they host University of San Diego on Saturday, January 6 at 5:00 p.m at the UCU Pavilion.