Box Score Moraga, Calif. - GeAnna Luaulu-Summers led the Pacific women's basketball team with 21 points, but Saint Mary's came away with an 83-74 win Saturday at McKeon Pavilion.
Najah Queenland scored 16 points while Emily Simons chipped in 11. Hailie Eackles added eight points with a career-high six assists, while Desire Finnie tallied seven points.
Pacific forced 28 Saint Mary's turnover, winning the turnover margin by 16, but the Gaels shot 58 percent from the field and scored 21 points from the free throw line to Pacific's nine.
Saint Mary's completed a sweep of the season series, aided by a 62-21 free throw attempt disparity in the two games, including 27-13 Saturday. The Tigers outscored the Gaels 65-62 in the flow of play (and by 22 points in the two games this season) but couldn't overcome the frequent whistles and a 46-23 rebounding advantage by Saint Mary's.
Pacific falls to 10-11 overall, and 3-7 in WCC play. Saint Mary's improves to 17-4 overall, 8-2 in WCC action.
Pacific posted the first two buckets as Queenland and Luaulu-Summers drove for lay-ups, but Saint Mary's answered with 10-straight points before Emily Simons finished with a baseline jumper. Luaulu-Summers tallied again, but Carly Turner hit a three.
Saint Mary's hit their first 11 shots as the Gaels built a 12-point lead. Finnie connected on a jumper and Simons added a three-pointer to bring Pacific within 24-15. Luaulu-Summers added a triple, but Lauren Nicholson added a jumper from the elbow. Luaulu-Summers drove and finished while being fouled, cutting the deficit to five. But Devyn Galland drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws for a 28-21 lead after the first.
Butler hit a three to open Pacific's scoring in the second quarter, but Stella Back added a lay-up for the Gaels. Luaulu-Summers drove the lane and finished with a floater and Eackles added a three to bring Pacific within four, at 34-30. Queenland answered a Gael basket by slicing to the rack for a lay-up, but Sydney Raggio connected on a jumper from the paint. Luaulu-Summers drained a triple from the corner, but the Gaels tallied inside on a put-back.
Queenland hit back-to-back threes, but the Gaels kept converting from the paint to lead by six, 47-41, at the break. Saint Mary's shot 69 percent in the first half (18-of-26), outscored Pacific in the paint 28-16, held a 19-11 rebounding advantage and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line to the Tigers 2-of-3. But Pacific forced 14 turnovers and hit seven three-pointers to stay within two possessions. The Tigers shot 43 percent in the first half (16-of-37).
Eackles opened the second half with a three, but Beck slipped to the rim as the Gaels led 51-44. Eackles found Simons in the paint for an open jumper, but Samira McDonald hit an open three with the shot clock expiring to give Saint Mary's a 55-46 lead. The Gaels took their largest lead at 61-48 on a jumper from Turner, before Finnie drove and finished. Finnie added another drive and Chelsea Lidy took a steal coast to coast, but Saint Mary's carried a 67-54 lead into the fourth.
Queenland found Simons inside as the Tigers pulled within 11. Simons and Queenland each posted lay-ups as Pacific brought it back within single digits, 69-60 with seven minutes to go. Lidy's fastbreak lay-up pulled Pacific within five, 70-65, but Raggio drove for two at the other end.
Nicholson hit a jumper for the Gaels as the Saint Mary's lead swelled back to 10. Luaulu-Summers added a late three-pointer as Pacific fell by eight.
Simons' 11 points came on 5-of-8 shooting, while Luaulu-Summers hit 7-of-12 from the field for her second 20-point game of the season.
Pacific will return to the Alex G. Spanos Center to face BYU on Thursday at 7 p.m.