The Seattle University women's basketball team took the early lead, but Saint Mary's College fought back, and the Gaels made their shots down the stretch to pull out a 71-70 victory over the Redhawks Saturday afternoon at the Connolly Center.
Brenda Adhiambo (Mombasa, Kenya) shot 5-of-7 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to lead the Redhawks with 16 points, plus she pulled down five rebounds and earned three steals. Talisa Rhea (Juneau, Alaska) finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) also made a significant contribution off the bench with 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Down by six five minutes into the second half, Saint Mary's started its comeback with an 8-2 run to force the game's first tie at 43-43 with 12:10 left in regulation. Back-to-back three-pointers from Jasmine Smith and Morgan Hatten, both set up by Alex Carbonel, gave the Gaels their first lead of the game at 56-53 with 6:30 remaining, and Carbonel scored the Gaels' next five points to increase the lead to 61-57 with five minutes left.
Two free throws by Adhiambo and a layup from Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) tied the game at 61-61, but a jumper by Carbonel allowed Saint Mary's to retake the lead. Rhea answered with a three-pointer to put the Redhawks ahead, 64-63, but Carbonel made another basket to put the Gaels back on top, 65-64.
The see-saw battle continued over the final three minutes of the game, with Adhiambo scoring six straight Redhawk points and Danielle Mauldin making two baskets for the Gaels. Saint Mary's took the lead with 15 seconds left in regulation on a jumper by Smith, and shot attempts from Rhea and Adhiambo in the final moments were off-target, ending Seattle U's four-game winning streak.
The early part of the game was not pretty, as nobody scored until Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) hit a three-pointer more than three minutes into the game, and Saint Mary's committed nine turnovers in the first nine minutes to allow the Redhawks to extend their advantage to 12-0. The Gaels did go on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut their deficit to four at 14-10, but Seattle U maintained its advantage throughout the rest of the half.
"This is a disappointing loss for us. We forced turnovers in the first half, and they were not shooting the ball well. It was a very physical game. Things changed at halftime. It became more physical. Carbonel took it to us in the second half, not really off jumpers, but more off penetration. Our defense and rebounding in the second half was not good, but we still had opportunities. We did a lot of good things, but we didn't finish it out," Seattle U head coach Joan Bonvicini said.
Smith kept Saint Mary's (7-4) in the game in the first half with three made three-pointers, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including 5-of-11 from behind the three-pointer. Carbonel scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half, plus she collected five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
After shooting just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field in the first half, Saint Mary's hit 63.3 percent (19-of-30) of its second-half field goal attempts, plus the Gaels went 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Although Saint Mary's committed 24 turnovers in the game, it did win the rebounding battle, 43-35.
Seattle U shot 35.8 percent (24-of-67) from the field, including 4-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the free throw line. The Redhawks committed only 12 turnovers while dishing out 17 assists in the contest.
Seattle University (6-5) travels to Little Rock, Ark., to face UALR Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 7:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. Pacific Time). After Christmas, the Redhawks will host the Washington Dental Holiday Classic at KeyArena Dec. 29-30, welcoming Eastern Michigan, Saint Francis (Pa.), and Saint Louis for the two-day tournament.