LOS ANGELES – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball held on for a 70-66 win over LMU on Thursday night to split the season-series with the Lions and climb over them in the standings.
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The Gaels shot 68.2% from the field in the second half and made critical defensive stops late in the game to get the win, while
Tayla Dalton scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers.
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Saint Mary's actually trailed most of the first half, making just three field goals in the first quarter while LMU had just five made baskets. SMC led 3-2 on a Dalton three just a few minutes into the game, tied it at 20-20 on an
Ali Bamberger 3-pointer with just over six minutes to go in the second quarter, and finally led again at 26-25 with just 2:17 to go in the half on another Dalton basket.
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Shortly after that,
Hannah Rapp grabbed a board and started a fast break feeding Dalton for a layup to go up 28-25 with 1:06 to go in the half, as they forced the Lions into a four-and-half-minute scoring drought. Alexis Mark hit a three to put LMU up by two with just 21 seconds left in the quarter, but Dalton hit a buzzer-beating three from the wing to put the Gaels up 31-30 at the break.
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The third quarter would be quite the opposite from the first, with each team shooting well in a back-and-forth affair that became a very entertaining contest. The Lions led by four most of the third, but a Bamberger offensive rebound set up
Maia Jones for a corner three to break a 51-51 tie and put SMC up 54-51, and a Bamberger basket made it 56-51 Gaels going into the fourth.
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A Jones 3-pointer put SMC up 64-56 with 5:21 to go, but LMU answered with a three of their own to cut it back to five. The Lions would tie the game at 66 on a pair of free throws with just under a minute remaining after scoring seven unanswered points.
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However,
Zeryhia Aokuso hit a clutch basket with a baby hook shot to put the Gaels back up by two with 43 seconds to go, and then hit one of two free throws to make it 69-66 with 20 seconds remaining.
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SMC needed one more big defensive stop, and would get it when
Leia Hanafin perfectly read a pass for a steal and then tacked on a free throw as well to make it a four-point game. She grabbed a rebound after a missed three by the Lions and was fouled, putting the game away for Saint Mary's.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Dalton 27 points topped her previous career high of 22 at San Francisco on February 26 in 2022. She was 9 of 15 from the floor in this game and was 3 of 4 from deep to go along with five boards and three assists.
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Bamberger finished with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds and six assists. Jones scored in double figures again with 14 points and was 4 of 6 from downtown. Aokuso ended up with nine points and five assists.
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Hanafin's game-clinching steal has been her forte all season, as she is second in the WCC in steals and steals per game.
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UP NEXT:
The Gaels will finish the road trip in San Diego this Saturday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m.
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#GaelsRise – 2023-24 tickets and ticket packages are on sale now! To purchase tickets, click here. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689.
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