The St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s basketball team (6-3) had a close one on the road against the Notre Dame (MD) Gators (5-4), taking the loss 67-65.
Both teams started hot, with St. Mary’s shooting 50% from the field but still finding themselves down 8-5 after the first quarter due to Notre Dame’s 62% shooting. Tray Mobray had a great first quarter for the Gators, scoring 7 points and finding her range from mid-range.
The Seahawks tied the game at 29-29 with about two minutes left in the first half thanks to strong play in the paint. Stephanie Howell sparked the Seahawks offensively, while Sam Blaylock, Amira Whitaker, and Melanie Aguilar all contributed. However, St. Mary’s could not take the lead and trailed by five at halftime.
St. Mary’s took the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes with seven minutes left in the third quarter on an Amira Whitaker jump shot. Whitaker had previously hit a three-pointer to draw the Seahawks close. Sam Blaylock closed out the strong St. Mary’s quarter with a three-pointer of her own, and the Seahawks took a slim lead into the final ten minutes.
The Seahawks extended their lead to eight with just over three minutes left in the game on another Amira Whitaker three. Notre Dame, however, responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead. Whitaker kept the Seahawks in it, though, hitting a three-pointer with 9 seconds left to tie the game. The Gators, however, hit a go-ahead layup with five seconds left and held on for the 67-65 win.
Amira Whitaker led all scorers with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sam Blaylock added 14 points for the Seahawks.
