MORAGA, CA --- Redshirt sophomore Te'Shya Heslip scored a team-high 15 points and freshman forward Katrina Reeves added 10 but the Howard women's basketball team fell to the Saint Mary's College Gaels 80-55 in the first day of the SMC Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic.

Heslip and Reeves each recorded their game of the season with 10+ points. Heslip shot 4-of-10 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 on free throws. She also added a game-high seven assists and three steals for Howard (0-5).

Half of Reeves' made field goals came from downtown and when adding Heslip's lone three, the pair hit all of the Lady Bison's triples.

Sophomore forward Sydni Johnson made her highly anticipated return after missing the first four games of the season due to injury. Johnson came off the bench to score six points on 3-of-7 shooting and grab a pair of rebounds in 22 minutes of action.

For all the listed positives Howard produced, the team's relative youth and inexperience led to their worst game of the year in terms of opponent shot defense. Saint Mary's (3-1) shot 58 percent from the field against HU, the second straight game that the Lady Bison have allowed a team to shoot over 50 percent for the game. Howard also failed to overcome their second-largest foul differential of the season (27-16; +11). 

Those 27 fouls led to 36 free throw attempts for the Gaels, the most Howard has allowed so far.

HU never held a lead as SMC opened the game on a 10-2 run in the first 3:30 of the game, extended it to ten (16-6) by the 13 minute mark and never trailed by less than 10 after the 18:26 mark of the second half.

Howard will complete its trip to California on Saturday, November 29 with a matchup against the University of Wyoming  at 3 p.m. Eastern / 12 p.m. Pacific.