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MORAGA, Calif. - In its first West Coast Conference road game of the season, the LMU women's basketball team had a big third-quarter, but Saint Mary's had too much firepower on its home court, pulling away in the fourth for a 72-57 final at McKeon Pavilion Thursday night.
The Lions fell to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in league play while the Gaels improved to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in WCC play.
Sophie Taylor led all players with a career-high 17 rebounds, but the Lions' second leading scorer was held to just four points on an off shooting night. LMU also got just five points from freshman Cheyanne Wallace, who entered the night averaging 13.3 ppg to lead the team.
Deanna Johnson was the only Lion to reach double figures, finishing with 13 points. Andee Velasco added nine points while Bree Alford and Leslie Lopez-Wood had eight apiece.
Lauren Nicholson led the Gaels with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Devon Brookshire and Carly Turner added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
"Tonight was a tough combination of us struggling from the field and giving them offensive rebounds and second chance points," said Head Coach Charity Elliott.
Saint Mary's scored the games first five points and would never trail on the night. LMU quickly responded with five points of their own and the first quarter was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Gaels take a 19-13 lead into the break. With the Lions trailing by just five, 22-17, at the 7:50 mark of the second quarter, SMC went on a 14-1 run to open up a 36-18 advantage.
LMU would score seven points late in the period to trail 38-25 at the half. The momentum carried into the third period as they opened things up with seven straight points, trimming the spread down to just four, 38-34, with 7:26 on the clock.
The Lions would pull to within four on two more occasions in the period, including a 46-42 deficit at the period's conclusion. But the Gaels would pull away down the stretch and free throw shooting in the final minutes kept the Lions at bay.
"We played hard and I was proud of the way we came out in the third quarter and showed more poise and quality decision making," Elliott added. "Saint Mary's is a mature team and in conference road games, you've got to be better."
LMU finished shooting just 29 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. The Gaels shot 32 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. They also earned a 22-12 made free-throw advantage over the Lions and a 54-41 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds that they turned into 14 second chance points.
The Lions' two-game WCC road swing concludes Saturday at Pacific. Tip off from the Spanos Center is set for 2 p.m. The game will also air live on theW.tv.
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