Tuesday, November 10
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
1-2,0-0WCC
81
vs
44
Chico State
0-1,0-0CCAA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chico St. | 9 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 44 |
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 23 | 13 | 26 | 19 | 81 |
#24 Audrey Bhesania: 23 MP, 11 pts., 7 reb., 1 ast. vs. Chico State
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
11/10/2026 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team flexed its strength Tuesday night, taking down Chico State 81-44 in its home opener. The Gaels had five players in double-figures for the first time this season and drained eleven threes for their second double-digit three total of the year.
NaTallia Urlacher scored a career high 15 points in what went down as her first collegiate start while freshman Aussie Lucy Aherne had 14 points and a game-high five assists over her 20 minutes of action. The 37-point victory was the team's largest since a 39-point win over San Francisco State a season ago as the Gaels picked up their first win of the 2026-27 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's (1-2) outscored Chico State 23-9 over the first ten minutes including four first quarter three-pointers. Lucy Aherne accounted for three of those triples and led the way with nine early points. Defensively, the Gaels held the Wildcats to just four made field goals on 22% shooting. The Wildcats did outscore the Gaels 16-13 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to eleven at the half, but Saint Mary's kicked things into high gear again in the second half with five more three-pointers and a combined 45 points over the final 20 minutes.
A 6-2 run to start the third quarter got the lead back up to 15 points including a quick four points from Urlacher during that stretch. The sophomore guard finished with nine in the quarter as well as two steals and a block. The Gaels had their most productive period of the night, shooting 60% from the field and 85% from the free throw line to take a 27-point lead into the fourth. 19 more points and a flurry of three-pointers would put the nail in the coffin as the Gaels cruised to the 81-44 victory. A late three from freshman Evelyn Tounkara would give the Gaels their biggest lead of the night at 37 points. Tounkara added seven of her own off the bench while Lihi Azouri led all bench scorers with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will hop on a plane Wednesday morning and travel west to Oahu for its first MTE of the season, competing in the Bank of Hawaii Classic. The Gaels will take on host Hawaii on Friday, November 13 at 1 p.m. before ending their tropical weekend against Alabama A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m. All times are listed in pacific time and additional game information 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
NaTallia Urlacher scored a career high 15 points in what went down as her first collegiate start while freshman Aussie Lucy Aherne had 14 points and a game-high five assists over her 20 minutes of action. The 37-point victory was the team's largest since a 39-point win over San Francisco State a season ago as the Gaels picked up their first win of the 2026-27 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's (1-2) outscored Chico State 23-9 over the first ten minutes including four first quarter three-pointers. Lucy Aherne accounted for three of those triples and led the way with nine early points. Defensively, the Gaels held the Wildcats to just four made field goals on 22% shooting. The Wildcats did outscore the Gaels 16-13 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to eleven at the half, but Saint Mary's kicked things into high gear again in the second half with five more three-pointers and a combined 45 points over the final 20 minutes.
A 6-2 run to start the third quarter got the lead back up to 15 points including a quick four points from Urlacher during that stretch. The sophomore guard finished with nine in the quarter as well as two steals and a block. The Gaels had their most productive period of the night, shooting 60% from the field and 85% from the free throw line to take a 27-point lead into the fourth. 19 more points and a flurry of three-pointers would put the nail in the coffin as the Gaels cruised to the 81-44 victory. A late three from freshman Evelyn Tounkara would give the Gaels their biggest lead of the night at 37 points. Tounkara added seven of her own off the bench while Lihi Azouri led all bench scorers with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
GAME NOTES
- Saint Mary's secured its fifth consecutive home opener win dating back to the 2022-23 season
- Saint Mary's had five players reach double-figures for the first time since a 86-59 home win over Seattle U last season (2/16/26)
- The Gaels outscored the Wildcats 50-22 in bench points
- Urlacher and Azouri led the team with 15 points each; both career highs as a Gael
- Urlacher's 15 points were as many as her career total through ten games
- Urlacher also recorded a career high five steals on the night as the Gaels had a game-high ten as a team
- Aherne surpassed her career high by one point, finishing with 14 points and a game high five assists
- Niveya Henley tied her career high with four made three's, making up all 12 points on the night for the senior transfer from Idaho
- True freshman Audrey Bhesania scored a career high 11 points in just her third career game
- Charlece Ohiaeri finished the night with a career high three blocks
- The Gaels had a game-high eight blocks, their most since recording eight in a 69-66 win over Oregon State back in 2025
- Ave Odegard scored a season high five points and connected on her first career three-pointer in the fourth quarter
- Saint Mary's finished the night with a season high 11 three-pointers; the Gaels have reached double-digit made threes in multiple games this season for the first time since 2024
- Saint Mary's led wire-to-wire in rout to its first win of the season
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will hop on a plane Wednesday morning and travel west to Oahu for its first MTE of the season, competing in the Bank of Hawaii Classic. The Gaels will take on host Hawaii on Friday, November 13 at 1 p.m. before ending their tropical weekend against Alabama A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m. All times are listed in pacific time and additional game information 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
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballPF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballSF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballTeam Stats
Chico
SMC
FG%
.279
.484
3FG%
.333
.379
FT%
.500
.833
RB
35
44
TO
14
11
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Tuesday, November 10
Tuesday, November 10
Saturday, November 07
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