The Saint Mary women's basketball team earned an 84-82 win over Avila in their season opener in the Ryan Sports Center on Tuesday night. The game featured five ties and five lead changes with the Spires holding on for the victory.

The Spires trailed early in the first quarter as Avila pushed out to a six point lead. After trailing 16-10, Saint Mary would outscore Avila 17-3 the rest of the quarter to lead 27-19. The Spires pushed their lead out to as many as 13 points in the second quarter before Avila trimmed the deficit to four points by halftime.

In the third quarter, the Eagles regained the lead by the 7:17 mark in the third quarter. The Spires would eventually trail 52-45 before using a 12-2 run to close the quarter and lead 57-54 headed into the fourth. Avila again powered back to take a five point lead with 8:40 left in the game. The Spires responded again with a 13-2 run to lead by seven points with 3:21 left in the game. Avila climbed all the way back to trail 82-81 but the Spires held on for an 84-82 win.

Four Spires scored in double figures in the win. Candy De Los Reyes led the way with 18 points. She also had a team high five steals. Ashley Hinkle scored 16 points and had a team high three assists. Sienna Brown was one rebound away from a double-double giving Saint Mary 15 points and nine rebounds. Brown also blocked two shots. Kelsey Switzer had 15 points as well. Carly Bohannon pulled down four rebounds.

Saint Mary is back in action this weekend in the KCAC/HAAC Classic hosted by Baker. The Spires take on Baker at 7:30pm on Friday. On Saturday, Saint Mary faces off with Benedictine at noon.