Saint Mary’s looked en route to an easy victory over Drake in the first round of its Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic as it jumped in front by 10 points early in the game.
The Gaels (3-2) wound up with the victory, thanks to a lights-out second-half shooting performance, defeating Drake (2-2) 76-73.
The Gaels shot 63.3 percent (19-30) in the second half after squandering their early lead and trailing by 11, 45-34 at the half.
But it was not just hot shooting by the Gaels that led to the victory. Saint Mary’s protected the ball better in the second half, even though Drake has 16 steals in forcing 23 turnovers for the night. The Gaels also defended better and wound up forcing 21 turnovers for the night, even though they only had six steals for the game.
Jontelle Smith tied the game at 64 with a 3-pointer. She made an even greater impact with her defensive pressure in the second half, disrupting the Bulldogs, who wound up hitting on 10 of 26 second-half shots (38.5 percent). Seven blocks by Louella Tomlinson also helped to keep Drake at bay.
Tomlinson took game honors with 26 points on 13-of-17 shooting. Ashlee Smith, who went 6-for-7, and Jasmine Smith, who sealed the victory by driving for a late basket, both had 15.
Drake, which knocked off No. 24 Iowa State earlier this year, had four players in double figures led by Monique Jones and Kristin Turk, who both had 16. Jones had 10 rebounds.
“Other than the last 10 minutes of the first half, I thought we were a very good defensive team,” coach Paul Thomas told the Saint Mary’s Sports Information office after the game. “I think Jontelle was a major factor on the defensive end tonight.”
The Gaels tonight host undefeated Nebraska, which defeated Arkansas Little Rock 62-45 for its fifth victory behind Kelsey Griffin’s 27 points and 14 rebounds. The game is at 8 p.m. following the Arkansas Little Rock-Drake game at six o’clock.
Comments