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What an afternoon it was in Lion Tree Arena as, on Thursday, November 14, Saint Mary's battled UC San Diego in a double overtime thriller—the second straight time these two programs have gone to overtime. Maia Jones was a cold blooded killer for the Gaels in the fourth quarter and in overtime, finishing with a game high 28 points and eight rebounds. It took an extra ten minutes of play, but the Gaels got the job done, ending the second overtime period on a 9–0 scoring run and keeping the Tritons off the scoreboard to seal the 74–65 road victory.

Fierce Defense in the First Half

The game got off to a slow start offensively for both sides. Keeping the Gaels within striking distance was Kennedy Johnson, who recorded six points in the second quarter. Abigail Shoff and Edie Clarke also added buckets in the period to make it a six-point game at the break, with the Gaels trailing 19–25. Clarke got her first start as a Gael and scored her first points with a nifty layup inside. She was huge for Saint Mary's on the defensive glass in the second half, finishing the game with four rebounds and a block. The formidable 6’4” freshman from Melbourne, Australia, also altered several shots inside the paint. 

Overall the Gaels were strong defensively, forcing 12 turnovers in the first half—including three missed field goals and a turnover in the final minute of the half.   

Jones Catches Fire

Despite just two points in the first half, sophomore guard Maia Jones took over in the second half with 15 points. The third quarter was huge for the Gaels: Jones shot 50% from the field and put up eight of the Gaels’ 21 points to make it a three-point game. 

More important, the Gaels did not turn the ball over and rebounded at a high clip. They had just two turnovers in the third quarter to give them 16 shot attempts to the Tritons’ ten. UC San Diego did connect on a pair of three balls, including one in the final seconds, to maintain a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

After trading off empty possessions to start the fourth, the Gaels went on a 9-2 scoring run to take a four-point lead. Maia Jones and Ella Wedin connected on back-to-back three pointers to give Saint Mary's a 49–45 lead midway through the fourth. Jones hit a pull-up three in transition to answer a Tritons layup, while Melesungu Afeaki successfully defended a shot attempt and allowed Wedin to leak out in transition for a step back three from the wing.  

Abigail Shoff converted a jumper at the four-minute mark to give the Gaels their largest lead of the game. Things got interesting in the closing minutes, as UC San Diego answered with a 5–0 run to knot the game at 51. Free throws from Maia Jones and Emily Foy pushed the lead back to three, but the Tritons drew a foul on the other end and split their free throws to make it a two-point game with 45 seconds remaining. 

The Gaels had a chance to ice the game with a made basket but instead turned the ball over and allowed UC San Diego to come back up the floor. Tritons point guard Sumayah Sugapong connected on a pull-up jumper to tie the game and force overtime.  

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First Overtime: Down to the Final Half Second

In the first overtime, Saint Mary's kept the upper hand for the majority of the period, but late drama let the Tritons back in the game. Maia Jones and Emily Foy became a lethal combination down the stretch as they combined to score the first nine points for Saint Mary's. In the final two minutes, there were four lead changes.

The Gaels led by as many as four, but UC San Diego connected on a three ball to make it a one point game and then got a defensive stop with eight seconds remaining. After calling a timeout, the Tritons made a three-point attempt, and officials called a foul on the follow. That sent Sugapong to the line with a chance to win the game. She made two of three from the line, missing on the second free throw, which gave the Tritons the lead but left the door open for the Gaels with just over two seconds remaining. 

After a timeout from Gaels Coach Jeff Cammon, the inbound went Maia Jones, who made an aggressive drive to the hoop. After taking a bump, she put home the layup and earned a foul with less than a second remaining to give Saint Mary's a one point lead. The officials had to review the clock as the buzzer did sound after the ball fell through the net; the foul occurred before time expired, so 0.8 seconds were put back on the clock.

Jones intentionally missed the free throw attempt to allow time to run out. But UC San Diego grabbed the rebound and used their last timeout with 0.5 remaining. They hurled the ball toward the hoop off the inbound, in effort of an alley-oop, but the referee called a foul as SMC’s Ella Wedin tried to make a play on the ball. That sent Tritons forward Kayanna Spriggs to the free throw line, with UCSD down one. After making the first free throw, the second attempt rattled off the front of the rim and fell to the floor, short. With the score tied at 65, that sent the game into a second overtime. 

Gaels Defense Stops Everything for the Win

Saint Mary's got off to a good start in the second overtime with a bucket from Edie Clarke to give them a 67-65 lead. The Gaels then buckled down defensively and forced seven missed field goals from the Tritons—who did not record a single point in the entire overtime period. 

Kennedy Johnson connected on a pull up jumper to make it a four point game. Maia Jones scored the final five points of the game to seal a dramatic 74–65 victory. Abigail Shoff, a 6-foot forward from Redding, California, led the team with a career high 11 rebounds and was crucial all game long on the defensive and offensive glass. She added nine points as well, just a point shy of a double-double as the Gaels went on to out rebound the Tritons 45–33. Emily Foy, a 6’1” junior from Newcastle, Australia, finished with a season high 14 points and was the team’s best long ball threat, finishing with two of the team’s four three pointers.  

Johnson, a 5’11” guard from Hayward, California, finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Maia Jones, a redshirt sophomore from Tasman, New Zealand, put up a season high 28 points with 26 of them coming in the second half and overtime. This is Jones's fourth 20+ point game of her career; last season she hit that mark three times. She was just three points shy of tying her career high of 31, which she recorded last season against Pepperdine. 

Coach Jeff Cammon utilized his bench more than any other game this season as he went 11 players deep, with nine of them recording at least 15 minutes of action. The Gaels’ bench also outscored San Diego's 33–16.  

UP NEXT: Improving to 2–1 for the season, Saint Mary's remains in Southern California to take on UC Irvine on Saturday, November 16 at 2 p.m.