WBB | Saint Mary’s Climbs All the Way Back but Falls Short in Rematch to Santa Clara

Thursday, February 19

Santa Clara, CA

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

15-13,6-9WCC

Santa Clara

21-7,11-4WCC

Saint Mary's (CA)

Santa Clara

#13 Malia Latu: 31 MP, 12 pts., 7 reb., 2 ast. vs. Santa Clara

Photo by: Evan Roehrig/Saint Mary's Athletics

WBB | Saint Mary’s Climbs All the Way Back but Falls Short in Rematch to Santa Clara

2/19/2026 9:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The unflinching Saint Mary's women's basketball team fought all the way back from down 14 points Thursday night at Santa Clara but was edged 63-55 by the Broncos. The Gaels, who own the best scoring defense in the West Coast Conference, held the league's best offense to just 63 points on 33% shooting but couldn't get over the hump in a low scoring fourth quarter with Santa Clara (21-7, 11-4 WCC).

Malia Latu was electric in her return to the Leavey Center, scoring 12 points along with a game-high seven rebounds off the bench for Saint Mary's (15-13, 6-9 WCC) while Abigail Shoff led the team with 14 points for her seventh consecutive game in double-figures. Addi Wedin shot 50% from the floor for nine points on the night along with a combined 12 points from Ohiaeri and Afeaki off the bench.

The Gaels will look to regroup and bounce back Saturday night as they host San Francisco on Saturday at 5 p.m. Saint Mary's will also honor its three seniors in their final home contest of the regular season. Tickets for Saturday's game can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Saint Mary's was very efficient in its first two quarters, shooting a combined 42% from the field. The Gaels trailed by as many as seven in the opening quarter but answered with defense and paint points, outscoring the Broncos 12-6 in the paint to trail 15-12 at the break. Malia Latu had four points along with four other scorers for the Gaels in the first quarter.

Santa Clara is known for letting it fly from beyond the perimeter and they did so in the second quarter, hitting four three-pointers and building a lead as large as nine points. Once again though, the Gaels forced turnovers and tough shots to get out in transition and attack the rim. They finished the half +12 in paint points and +8 in bench points as the best bench scoring team in the WCC.

Latu finished with another four points in the second quarter to lead the team with eight and the Gaels went on a 5-0 run late in the half to cut the deficit to four. Abigail Shoff had six points at the half and Charlece Ohiaeri not only earned another start on the season but scored four points over the first 20 minutes of action. A layup at the buzzer would give Santa Clara a 31-25 lead at the break.

Santa Clara pushed its lead to as many as 13 points in the third but the Gaels closed on a 9-0 run and found themselves down 50-45. After going down a game high 14 points, SMC came all the way back to tie the game at 43 for the first time since the opening quarter. Malia Latu continued her takeover with another four points in the period before Addi Wedin hit the Gaels' first three of the ballgame to tie the game at 43.

Saint Mary's continued to keep the WCC's best scoring team in check, holding the Broncos to 13 points on 26% shooting in the fourth. The game went back-and-forth between two-point deficits but the Gaels couldn't find the go-ahead basket. After going down 57-51, the Gaels were able to get back-to-back buckets from Melesungu Afeaki and Charlece Ohiaeri to make it a two-point game yet again. Over the last four minutes of the game though, Saint Mary's hit a cold spell and went scoreless over its next seven shot attempts. The Broncos weren't much better either but ended the game on a 6-0 run with four made free throws to hold off a late Saint Mary's comeback.

GAME NOTES

Saint Mary's dominated the paint, outscoring Santa Clara 38-24 in paint points
The Gaels continue to lead the league in bench scoring with 32 bench points compared to just 19 from the Broncos
Abigail Shoff led the Gaels with 14 points for her seventh consecutive game in double-figures
Saint Mary's shot 42% from the field on the night while holding Santa Clara to just 335% from the field
63 points went as the third lowest game total of the season for SCU and lowest scoring total since putting up 51 points in a loss to Vermont back in November
The Gaels were +7 on the glass Thursday night. They've been even or positive in rebounding the past four games and are 2-2 in those contests
Charlece Ohiaeri earned her sixth start of the season, scoring six points along with a career high eight rebounds
Saint Mary's sits in eighth place in the WCC standings with three games remaining in the regular season

LOOKING AHEAD

The Gaels will return to Moraga for their final home contest of the regular season and Senior Day against San Francisco on Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets.

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.

#GaelsRise