BERKELEY, Calif. - Saint Mary's traveled through the Caldecott Tunnel for a Bay Area showdown with Cal to kickoff their 2024-25 campaign. After a slow start, the Gaels would close the first quarter on an 11-2 run to make it just a five point game. Cal would light it up from beyond the arc though and finish the game with 14 three pointers to run away with the 90-58 victory.
Emily Foy led the Gaels with 13 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting while
Kennedy Johnson posted 12 points in her SMC debut.
FIRST HALF SMC 26-42 CAL
Cal got off to a quick start in Haas Pavilion with five three pointers to jump out to a 15-2 lead. After an early timeout from head coach
Jeff Cammon, Saint Mary's would settle in and get some defensive stops to help jump start their offense. Buckets from
Melesungu Afeaki and
Ella Wedin would help end the Bears scoring run and cut the lead to eight.
After Cal hit the 15-point mark, Saint Mary's would force four turnovers in the final four minutes of the first quarter to help get them back into the game.
Kennedy Johnson and
Ella Wedin each had two steals during that stretch and the Gaels closed the quarter on an impressive 11-2 run to make it a five point game at the break.
Emily Foy would connect on a jumper in the final seconds to give her four points in the quarter while Saint Mary's forced eight turnovers in the opening ten minutes.
Cal would regroup though and answer with a 22-point second quarter which featured six made field goals and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. They held the Gaels to just 33% shooting as they took a 42-26 lead into the half.
The Gaels were able to matchup defensively with the Bears for the majority of the night but foul trouble played a role in the second quarter and the Bears also forced six turnovers to help grow their lead once again. Foy and Johnson continued to pace the Gaels with eight points each at the break while Wedin connected on another three ball to finish with six points.
FINAL SMC 58-90 CAL
Both teams traded buckets to start the second half but Cal ramped up their defensive pressure and forced ten turnovers in the last two quarters. They went on to outscore Saint Mary's 31-16 off of turnovers and connected on three more three pointers to finish with 14 on the night. Foy tallied a team high 35 minutes of action and finished with an impressive stat line of 13 points on 6-9 shooting and seven rebounds.
Maia Jones found some rhythm in the second half finishing with six points on 2-3 shooting. Afeaki was also 2-4 in the second half to give herself four points on the night and
Jada Hunter scored her first points as a Gael, finishing with six points on 2-2 shooting and also had two steals.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's falls to 0-1 to start their season but will make their home debut this Saturday as they take on Denver at 1:00 PM. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you can stream the game live on ESPN+.
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