UCLA
Saint Mary's
Bruins Fall To Saint Mary's 53-52
December 06, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2003
Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's women's basketball team scored the game's final six points, including two free throws by Triola Jackson with 4.8 seconds left in the game to give the Gaels a 53-52 victory over UCLA on Saturday at McKeon Pavilion in front of 948 fans. With the win, the Gaels improve to 4-2 on the season, while UCLA dropped to 2-2. After trailing 52-47, Jackson scored the final six points of the game, including a rebound and put back with 2:29 left in the game to cut the lead to 52-49. Jackson then took a pass from Lauren Shaughnessy and scored another layup with 1:23 left to cut the lead to 52-51.
Saint Mary's then stopped the Bruins on the defensive end of the floor, giving the Gaels possession with 16 seconds remaining in the game. Saint Mary's Serena Benavente drove around two UCLA defenders and found Jackson in the low post. Jackson put up a shot attempt and was fouled, giving the junior two free throws with 4.8 remaining. Jackson calmly stepped up to the foul line and made both free throws for a 53-52 lead.
The Bruins had the game's final shot attempt, but Nikki Blue's desperation shot fell short, as the Gaels beat the Bruins for the second consecutive time in McKeon Pavilion. Saint Mary's beat UCLA 83-63 in the 1997-98 season. After trailing or being tied for the entire game, the Gaels took their first lead of the game at the 11:09 mark of the second half. The Gaels trailed by five points at halftime and early in the second half UCLA took a 40-31 lead with 16:09 left in the half.
But that's when the Gaels' Monica Mertle stepped up. Mertle scored the game's next 11 points, giving Saint Mary's a 42-40 lead with 11:09 left in the game. The freshman forward finished the game with a game-high and career-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 4-of-6 shooting from behind the 3-point line. Mertle's run of 11 straight points included three 3-pointers and steal followed by a layup.
