Women’s Basketball Thanksgiving Classic: Gaels Win over North Carolina A&T, Come up Short Against Illinois State

Saint Mary's Women's Basketball stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat North Carolina A&T, 73–65, on November 24, day one of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic.

The Gaels trailed by 10 points at the half, but shot 57.7% in the second half, with four players finishing the game in double figures scoring. The Aggies only loss this season was to Georgia, and they've had big wins over Wake Forest and Liberty.

SMC jumped out to an early lead, going up 11–5 at the first media time out, but the Aggies went on a 10–0 run to finish the quarter up 15–11. It remained right around a five-point edge for North Carolina A&T for most of the second quarter, before they went on a run in the final three minutes of the half.

The deficit ballooned up to 11 with just over a minute to go in the second quarter, and the Gaels found themselves down 13 with 51 seconds to go in the first half. But Ali Bamberger came up with a steal to give Saint Mary's one more crack at a good shot. They got that on a three pointer from Tayla Dalton at the buzzer, after Addison Wedin set her up with a nifty feed to take a little momentum into the break.

North Carolina A&T: A Tale of Two Halves

Saint Mary's shot just 29.6% in the first half to North Carolina A&T's 56.5%, but the Gaels' defense flipped the script in the second half. Four minutes into the third quarter, Leia Hanafin stole the ball and started a fast break the other way. She set up freshman Zeryhia Aokuso with a layup and a foul, as Aokuso converted the three-point play to cut it to just a 38–34 Aggies lead.

With a little over a minute to go in the third, the Gaels got their first lead since they were up 11–9 with 3:39 to go in the first quarter. After Hanafin and Hannah Rapp combined to force a turnover, Dalton again hit a huge three pointer to put Saint Mary's ahead 46–45, and the Gaels would never trail again.

SMC committed four fewer turnovers than the Aggies in the second half, and scored 24 points off of those turnovers via 10 steals in the final two quarters. The Gaels extended their lead to as many as 19 points on a Rapp three pointer with 5:43 left to play.

The Aggies managed to get the lead down to seven, however, making it a 69–62 game with 1:10 remaining, as the Gaels did make five turnovers of their own in the fourth when North Carolina A&T turned up the pressure.

A Bamberger layup settled things down for Saint Mary's though, and Hanafin hit a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the win for the Gaels.

Illinois State: Second Half Takes a Tough Turn for the Gaels

Game two of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, Nov. 25, went in the opposite direction of the first game for the Gaels, as Illinois State's strong second half led them to a 62–51 win over SMC.

Saint Mary's made just seven field goals in the second half, and unconverted layups and points allowed the other way created swings in momentum and on the scoreboard.

The Gaels trailed by six with 3:38 to go in the first quarter before cutting it to one on an Emily Foy layup after forcing a turnover to finish the first. They led by six via points off a turnover when Hannah Rapp converted a layup with 2:30 to go in the second quarter. But the Redbirds converted a three-point play to finish the half to tie the game at 33 apiece.

The second half opened with a missed layup for the Gaels, followed by a three pointer for the Redbirds, which would be a harbinger of things to come for SMC.

The turnover battle went the Gaels' way, however, as they committed just seven in the game while forcing 19 for the Redbirds. That defense kept Saint Mary's in the game, as they tied the fourth quarter with Illinois State, but the Redbirds took the third quarter 17–6, when Saint Mary's shot just 21%.

An 8–0 run sparked the big quarter for the Redbirds that started with seven minutes to go in the third, and Illinois State finished the quarter with their 11-point lead at 50–39. Saint Mary's was never able to trim the deficit below nine, as the Redbirds kept the Gaels at arm's length the rest of the way.

A night after four Gaels scored in double figures, only Tayla Dalton finished in double figures with 11 points, but three other players had eight points in Leia Hanafin, Zeryhia Aokuso, and Addison Wedin, and Hannah Rapp finished with nine. Ali Bamberger led the team in assists with five.

Up Next

The Gaels get some time off before playing at Cal on Saturday, December 2 at 12 p.m.

READ MORE: These stories as they originally appear at SMCGaels.com: “Second-Half Eruption Powers Gaels to Win Over North Carolina A&T” and “Illinois State Takes Thanksgiving Classic Finale”

“In Men's Basketball, Gaels Return to Form in Walloping of Davidson”