| | Published November 12th, 2008
| Saint Mary's Hones Skills with Exhibition Win
| | By Mikaela Cowle |  | |
The Saint Mary's women's basketball team finished their second exhibition game with an 86-75 win over San Francisco State on Sunday, November 9. The Gators gave the Gaels a better game than last Friday's victory over Showtime, 100-74.
The Gaels broke the game open with a lead they never lost when Louella Tomlinson won the tip off, sending the ball straight to Jontelle Smith, who passed it to Katie Batlin for two points. Local favorite Batlin made her college debut this weekend, starting both games at point guard, averaging 7.5 points and 3 assists.
Saint Mary's started the game up-tempo with their well-known Freak defense, sending them on a 13-2 run. In an attempt to slow the game down, the Gators went to a zone early in the first half. The zone had little effect in the first as the Gaels out-shot their opponents 61.5 percent to 36.4 percent.
Hitting shots meant Saint Mary's could get into their full court press early. In the first half they forced 17 turnovers, converting them successfully into 20 of their first half points as San Francisco struggled against the pressure.
The Gaels went to the locker room at halftime with a 46-33 lead; however, they came out in the second half a little sluggish. Three minutes into the half, the Gators cut Saint Mary's lead to six, as the Gaels struggled against the zone. It didn't take long for Saint Mary's to get back on track. Despite having a staggering 35 turnovers for the game, they posted an impressive 25 assists as a team.
Tomlinson, Smith and Maija Lahde totaled over half of the Gaels points. Tomlinson lead the team with a notable 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Smith, known for her three-point shot earned nine of her points from behind the arc, giving Saint Mary's 15 points and four assists. Lahde, with a diverse array of contributions, added 11 points to the threesomes mix along with a game high of eight rebounds, four assists and one block.
Saint Mary's will once again start the regular season out of town as they compete in the 2008 World Classic tournament in Austin Texas, opening against Old Dominion on Saturday, November 15th at 2:00 PM PT.
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 | | Maija Lahda (1) Photo Doug Kohen
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA