Redshirt junior Kate Gaze had a 11 points in the loss to USD. Photos Tod Fierner

The Saint Mary's women's basketball team fell in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament for the second straight year. The No. 3 Gaels lost 53-73 to the No. 2 University of San Diego Toreros on March 9.
In the first half, both teams traded baskets for the first four minutes before USD went on a 14-0 run to build a 31-14 lead with a little over seven minutes to play. They built a 43-25 lead at half time.
The Gaels responded in the second half with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to eight, but USD responded with back-to-back threes to extend their lead. They never looked back.
"I was super proud of my team for coming out in the second half with that kind of intensity and that just shows a lot of fight and a lot of pride," head coach Paul Thomas explained. "Got to give a lot of credit to San Diego that they held on and just built the lead back up."
Junior guard Jackie Nared led Saint Mary's with 17 points. Redshirt junior guard Kate Gaze and sophomore forward Carli Rosenthal had 11 points each. Junior forward Danielle Mauldin had 10 points.
Saint Mary's defeated Portland in the quarterfinals 54-51 to reach the match-up against USD.
With a 20-10 overall record, the Gaels might qualify for an at-large berth to the post-season, either NCAA tournament or the WNIT.
"I hope our kids get a chance to play in the NCAA tournament and if not we will get back and practice well and work on things that need to be worked on," Thomas said.
The brackets will be announced on March 18.

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