MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team made their home debut in their second ever matchup with Denver Saturday afternoon and came away with the 69-64 victory for their first of the season. The Gaels overcame an early nine-point deficit in the first quarter and went on to lead by as many as twelve points in the third quarter.
Denver made a late push, eventually tying the game up at 49 but head coach
Jeff Cammon and his squad were 8-10 from the field in the fourth quarter to seal the five-point win.
Kennedy Johnson led the way with 16 points while
Maia Jones and
Abigail Shoff combined for 25 on the night.
FIRST HALF SMC 35-35 DU
Denver made it clear early on they were going to shoot the ball from distance as they jumped out to a nine-point lead and finished the first quarter with four three pointers.
Edie Clarke and
Melesungu Afeaki connected on jumpers in the paint to cut the lead down to five in the final two minutes but the Pioneers would hit a pair of three balls to push the lead back to nine after the first ten minutes.
The Gaels would respond nicely though, outscoring Denver 26-17 in the second quarter and shooting nearly 70% from the field. They would start the period on a 7-0 run that was capped off by a three ball from
Maia Jones. Just a few possessions later Jones would connect on another three ball to help spark the offense as they finished the quarter 11-16 from the field.
Despite the offensive explosion for Saint Mary's, Denver still managed to shoot 50% from the field and hit another trio of three pointers to knot the game at 35 at the break.
Melesungu Afeaki and
Abigail Shoff were very effective on both ends of the floor as they helped force five Pioneer turnovers and combined for eight points in the second quarter.
FINAL SMC 69-64 DU
The Gaels would put together their best quarter of the game coming out of the half on a 12-0 scoring run. Great intensity on the defensive side of the ball helped force four turnovers and
Kennedy Johnson led the way with six points during that stretch. Johnson continues to have a stellar start to her Gaels career finishing the afternoon with 16 points and her second straight game in double figures.
The fourth quarter would get a little messy for both sides as Denver was able to step up their defensive effort to help spark a 14-2 run of their own at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to tie the game at 49. Once again Saint Mary's answered with an 8-0 run with key buckets from Johnson and Shoff.
Turnovers plagued the Gaels late as they had seven in the quarter and 23 for the game, allowing the Pioneers to hang around late into the game. Despite trailing by ten with four to play, Denver would make a late surge to cut the deficit to just two points with 1:08 remaining. The Gaels would seal the win though going 6-8 from the free throw line and Shoff would secure a huge defensive rebound with 13 seconds remaining off a missed Pioneers layup to send her to the line.
Shoff recorded her first double-digit performance of her SMC career finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and five first half assists. The Gaels bench was also really efficient, outsourcing Denver's bench 28-5.
Ella Wedin and
Melesungu Afeakia combined for eleven points off the bench and Jones was 5-11 from the field to lead all bench scorers with 13 points.
Saint Mary's showcased their defensive strength as well, holding Denver to just 25% from three as they connected on just one three ball the entire second half. They would also force 15 turnovers as the Gaels scored 17 points in the game off those turnovers.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 1-1 on the season after taking down Denver in their home opener. They will hit the road the next two weeks taking on UC San Diego and UC Irvine. Ticket and stream links can be found at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
