LA JOLLA, Calif. - What an afternoon it was in Lion Tree Arena as Saint Mary's battled UC San Diego in a double overtime thriller, the second straight time these two programs have gone to overtime dating back to the 2023-24 season.
Maia Jones was a cold blooded killer for the Gaels in the fourth quarter and in overtime, finishing with a game high 28 points and eight rebounds. It took an extra ten minutes of play but the Gaels got the job done, ending the second overtime period on a 9-0 scoring run and keeping the Tritons off the scoreboard to seal the 74-65 road victory.
FIRST HALF SMC 19-25 UCSD
The game got off to a slow start offensively for both sides, finishing the first quarter with a combined five made field goals. UC San Diego would go on a nice run in the second quarter and catch fire from three. They finished 3-5 from beyond the arc after going 0-4 in the first quarter compared to the Gaels 0-6 over the first two quarters.
Keeping the Gaels within striking distance was
Kennedy Johnson who recorded six points in the second quarter.
Abigail Shoff and
Edie Clarke also added buckets in the period to make it a six-point game at the break. Clarke got her first start as a Gael and scored her first points with a nifty layup inside. She was huge for Saint Mary's on the defensive glass in the second half, finishing the game with four rebounds and a block. She also altered several shots inside the paint with her 6-4 frame.
Once again, the Gaels were strong defensively, forcing 12 turnovers in the first half. Their intensity on the defensive end helped keep the Tritons from extending their lead as they forced three missed field goals and a turnover in the final minute of the second half.
REGULATION SMC 54-54 UCSD
Despite just two points in the first half, sophomore guard
Maia Jones would take over in the second half with 15 points. The third quarter was huge for the Gaels as they put up 21 points to make it a three-point game. Jones had eight in the quarter as Saint Mary's shot 50% from the field.
More importantly, the Gaels did not turn the ball over and rebounded at a high clip. They had just two turnovers in the third quarter to give them 16 shot attempts to the Tritons ten. UC San Diego did connect on a pair of three balls including one in the final seconds, to maintain a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After trading off empty possessions to start the fourth, the Gaels would catch fire and go on a 9-2 scoring run to take a four-point lead.
Maia Jones and
Ella Wedin would connect on back-to-back three pointers to give Saint Mary's a 49-45 lead midway through the fourth. Jones would hit a pull up three in transition to answer a Tritons layup the possession prior, while
Melesungu Afeaki would successfully defend a shot attempt and allow Wedin to leak out in transition for a step back three from the wing.
Abigail Shoff would convert a jumper at the four-minute mark to give the Gaels their largest lead of the game. Things would get interesting though in the closing minutes as UC San Diego would answer with a 5-0 run to knot the game at 51. Free throws from
Maia Jones and
Emily Foy would push the lead back to three but the Tritons would draw a foul on the other end and split their free throws to make it a two-point game with 45 seconds remaining.
The Gaels would have a chance to ice the game with a made basket but instead would turn the ball over and allow UC San Diego to come back up the floor seeking the game tying basket. Tritons point guard Sumayah Sugapong would do just that as she connected on a pull-up jumper to force overtime.
FIRST OVERTIME SMC 65-65 UCSD
Both overtime periods would tell a similar story, Saint Mary's would have the upper hand for the majority of the period but late drama would let the Tritons back in the game. Jones and Foy became a lethal combination down the stretch as they combined to score the first nine points for Saint Mary's.
The Gaels led by as many as four but late drama would ensue as UC San Diego connected on a three ball to make it a one point game and then got a defensive stop with eight seconds remaining. After calling a timeout, the Tritons would draw up a play that led to a three-point attempt but the officials would call a foul on the follow through to send Sumayah Sugapong to the line with a chance to win the game. Sugapong needed to make two of three from the line to take the lead and did just that. However, her miss on the second free throw attempt left the door open for the Gaels with just over two seconds remaining.
After a timeout from
Jeff Cammon, the inbound would go to Jones who made an aggressive drive to the hoop. After taking a bump, she would put home the layup and earn the foul with less than a second remaining to give Saint Mary's a one-point lead. The officials had to review the clock as the buzzer did sound after the ball fell through the net but the foul occurred before time expired so 0.8 seconds was put back on the clock.
Jones would intentionally miss the free throw attempt to allow time to run out but UC San Diego would grab the rebound and use their last timeout with 0.5 remaining. They would hurl the ball towards the hoop off the inbound in effort of an alley-oop attempt, but the referee would call a foul as
Ella Wedin tried to make a play on the ball and in a wild sequence, would send Tritons forward Kayanna Spriggs to the free throw line down one. After making the first, the second free throw attempt would rattle off the front end of the rim and fall to the floor to send the game into a second overtime.
There were four lead changes over the final two minutes of the first overtime period and the madness would continue on into a second overtime period.
SECOND OVERTIME SMC 74-65 UCSD
Saint Mary's got off to another good start with
Edie Clarke's second made bucket of the game to give them a 67-65 lead. The Gaels would then buckle down defensively and force seven missed field goals from the Tritons as they would not record a single point in the entire overtime period.
Kennedy Johnson would connect on a pull up jumper to make it a four-point game and then
Maia Jones would score the final five points of the game to seal the dramatic 74-65 road victory.
Abigail Shoff led the team with a career high 11 rebounds and was crucial all game long on the defensive and offensive glass. She added nine points as well, just a point shy of a double-double as the Gaels went on to out rebound the Tritons 45-33.
Emily Foy finished with a season high 14 points and was the team's best long ball threat, finishing with two of the team's four three pointers.
Johnson finished with 12 points and nine rebounds while Jones put up a season high 28 points with 26 of them coming in the second half and overtime. This is Jones's fourth 20+ point game of her career after recording three of them during the 2023-24 season. She was just three points shy of tying her career high of 31 which she recorded last season against Pepperdine.
Cammon utilized his bench more than any other game this season as he went eleven players deep with nine of them recording at least 15 minutes of action. The Gaels bench also outscored San Diego's 33-16.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 2-1 on the season after taking down UC San Diego in a double overtime thriller. They will remain in Southern California to take on UC Irvine on Saturday at 2:00 PM. Ticket and live stats links can be found at smcgaels.com and you can stream the game live on ESPN+.
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