MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team rode the high of Thursday's overtime win over Santa Clara into their conference home opener against LMU on Saturday and held the Lions to their second lowest point total of the season, winning 59-54. LMU was the second highest scoring offense in the league entering today's game and the Gaels defense held them to just 39% shooting and 31% from beyond the arc to start conference play 2-0.
Kennedy Johnson was a beast down the stretch, scoring 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter and
Zeryhia Aokuso recorded a career high 12 assists to help ice the game late in the fourth.
Abigail Shoff and
Maia Jones combined for 20 points as Saint Mary's shot a season high 53% from the field.
FIRST HALF SMC 22-22 LMU
LMU got off to a 9-2 start in the first quarter and showcased their versatility offensively as they came into today's contest averaging 70 points per game.
Abigail Shoff and
Maia Jones would put an end to that though as Shoff connected on a trademark pull-up jumper and Jones hit a three ball to make it a two-point game. Jones hit a pair of three's in the opening quarter but LMU went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-11 lead into the second.
Saint Mary's would make up the five-point differential in the second quarter, outscoring the Lions 11-6 and shooting 45% from the field. Once again, the Gaels defense came alive to force four turnovers and held LMU to just two made field goals in the quarter. Freshman forward
Edie Clarke would give the Gaels their first lead of the game, putting back her miss under the rim to give them a 22-21 advantage. Saint Mary's was 5-11 from the field in the quarter and ultra aggressive as six of their eleven points came in the paint.
FINAL SMC 59-54 LMU
The Gaels were just 4-11 from beyond the arc but had well timed three's including a three ball from sophomore
Emily Foy to make it 27-28 three minutes into the second half. Without one player in double figures at this point in the game, Saint Mary's got great production from their bench as five different players recorded a bucket in the third quarter.
The Gaels were not settling for shots and once again
Edie Clarke made her presence felt at the top of the team's 1-3-1 zone, helping force seven turnovers in the period. At the three minute mark, the Gaels had a momentous four-point swing after made free throws from
Melesungu Afeaki, they forced a five-second call on the in-bound and then
Maia Jones scored on a layup after a defensive stop to give them a three-point lead.
Clarke converted a layup off a nice bounce pass inside from Afeaki to give Saint Mary's a three-point lead heading into the fourth. SMC shot 43% from the field but the Lions were able to answer on numerous occasions to shoot 42% from the field and keep themselves within striking distance.
The Gaels came out on the front foot thanks to Abigal Shoff and
Maia Jones who scored the first two buckets of the quarter to extend their lead to seven. Both teams would trade buckets for the majority of the quarter, combining for 42 points, but LMU failed to make it a one possession game until the final two minutes.
A step back three from Naudia Evans would cut the deficit to three with 2:40 remaining. Over the next two offensive possessions Saint Mary's would turn the ball over twice but were able to get a pair of stops to keep LMU from tying the game. After a missed jumper from Evans fell out of bounds, Cammon would use a timeout knowing a score on the next possession could help ice the game.
Out of the timeout, Aokuso would find Johnson who drove hard to her right and converted the tough layup to push their lead to five. After a Lions answer from Evans, Johnson would continue her takeover and finish another tough layup on a similar design and draw the foul for the three-point play.
LMU guard Brandi Williams would hit a three and draw the foul, completing the four-point play with nine seconds left but it was too little too late for the Lions as Aokuso would get fouled on the in-bound and knockdown a pair of free throws to seal the 59-54 victory.
Saint Mary's starts WCC play 2-0 for the first time since 2014 and seemed to have turned a corner with great defensive play and collective scoring.
Kennedy Johnson was fantastic in her first week of conference play, combining for 40 points and 16 boards.
Zeryhia Aokuso continues to stack performances as she finished with a career high 12 assists, proving to be a great floor general and facilitator.
Abigail Shoff also put up back-to-back double digit performances and
Maia Jones got back into double figures for the first time since December 4th against San Jose State. The Gaels capped off a successful weekend with their best shooting performance of the year, finishing the night 53% from the field, their third game of the season over 50% as a team.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 6-5 overall and start's conference play undefeated with wins over Santa Clara and LMU. The league will take some time off for the holiday break and the Gaels will resume play on Saturday, December 28th with a road matchup against Pacific. Stream the game live on ESPN+ and get your tickets today at smcgaels.com.
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