HOUSTON, Texas - Saint Mary's made their first WNIT appearance since 2019 and their 13th overall in program history, but saw their season come to an end in a defensive battle with Texas Southern Thursday night. The Gaels outscored the Tigers by six with a 20-point fourth quarter but scored just nine points in the third to eventually fall 50-54 in Houston. The Gaels had three players in double figures including Emily Foy, Kennedy Johnson and Edie Clarke. Foy led the team with 14 points while Johnson went for eleven points and five boards for her 23rd game in double figures this season. Freshman forward Edie Clarke had herself a career night, recording 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Saint Mary's good for new career highs in her first collegiate season. 

Both teams shot under 35% from the field in the opening quarter but it was texas Southern who did their scoring early, jumping out to an 8-0 run. Saint Mary's would stop the bleeding with a deep three pointer from Emily Foy as they finished the quarter on an 11-3 scoring run to tie the game at eleven heading to the second. 

The Gaels defense put in work in the second quarter, holding the Tigers to just three made field goals and forced seven turnovers to take a 21-18 lead into the break. Defense continued to be a trend inn the game for both teams as Texas Southern returned the favor in the third quarter, holding Saint Mary's to just four made fiels goals in the period. The Gaels were efficient, shooting 40% in the quarter but on the flip side the Tigers were able to shoot 53% from the field good for a 22-point third quarter to flip the score and take a ten-point lead into the fourth. 

Kennedy Johnson provided a spark for the Gaels with back-to-back buckets to start the fourth and then an offensive putback from Clarke would cut the lead down to nine with seven and a half to play. After stringing together stops, Mauriana Hashemian-Orr would convert a layup under the four-minute mark to cut the deficit to five points as the Gaels were surging with a chance to erase the double-digit deficit they starter with at the beginning of the fourth. 

Emily Foy added to the drama with a late three-pointer with just under 30 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game. On the ensuing possession, the Gaels would foul and hope for missed free throws and get exactly that as Jaida Belton missed both free throws to leave the door open for the Gaels with 24 seconds remaining. Following a timeout from Jeff Cammon, Foy would get a look for three but fail to draw iron as Texas Southern secured the rebound and split their next pair of free throws to ice the game with a 54-50 victory.   

Saint Mary's concludes the 2024-25 season with a 14-17 overall record, ten wins in WCC play and a sixth place finish. Their ten wins are the most in conference play since 2019 and Cammon had his best season in his early tenure leading the Gaels program. 

Not to mention the two conference awards the Gaels took home including Newcomer of the Year in Kennedy Johnson and Sixth Woman of the Year in Emily Foy. This was the first time Saint Mary's took home multiple All-WCC awards since 2010.

Full results and season statistics 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. 

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