Kansas City, Missouri– The University of Saint Mary women's basketball team started the new year with a win against the newest KCAC team Avila University, 52-48 Wednesday evening inside Mabee Fieldhouse. The Spires are now 4-9 overall and 3-7 in the KCAC.

GAME FLOW
The Spires struggled at first shooting just 26.9 percent in the first half. After only trailing by three after the first quarter, Avila held Saint Mary to six points in the second quarter. The Spires then found some fire and fought back late in the third quarter after finding themselves down by as many as 13 points. Saint Mary grabbed their first lead of the game with just 2:30 to play, at 44-43. With just under a minute to play in the game, Sienna Brown made a huge defensive play, where she blocked a shot by the Eagles' Matti Morgan. Saint Mary would seal the win after going 4-for-6 from the line in the remaining seconds of the game.

KEY STATISTICS

• Saint Mary outscored Avila 16-12 in the paint.
• Paige Scheckel had 16 points and three rebounds.
• Saint Mary forced Avila to 11 turnovers.
• Tiani White scored 10 points and had three rebounds.
• Brown had eight points, three rebounds and one block.
• The Spires had eight different players score.

WHATS AHEAD FOR THE SPIRES
Saint Mary look to get another win when they return home to play Bethany College in the Ryan Sports Center this Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.