This Week in Women's Hoops
The Saint Mary's women's basketball team will open Women's Invitational Tournament (WNIT) play on Sunday, March 21 when they host the Utah Utes at 2:00 p.m. For tickets to the first round game in McKeon Pavilion, please call the SMC ticket office at (925)631-GOTX or buy them online at www.SMCGaels.com.
The winner of the SMC/Utah game will move on to the WNIT second round and will take on California at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA on Tuesday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. In California's first round WNIT game on Wednesday night, the Bears beat UC Davis 74-67 in overtime.
Glance at the Gaels
The Gaels are 21-9 going into the post-season and finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 12-2 record, giving them an automatic bid into the WNIT. Pepperdine upset the Gaels in the Zappos.com West Coast Conference tournament semifinals, falling 56-62. The Gaels held a nine-point lead to start the second half but a 10-point run by the Waves put SMC down one and Pepperdine never looked back. Junior Louella Tomlinson posted her 20th double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 18 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks.
Live Stats and Video Feed
Live stats will be available through the Saint Mary's athletic website at www.SMCGaels.com. A free live video feed will also be available online with play-by-play commentary provided by women's basketball radio broadcaster Alex Jensen.
Scouting the Utah Utes
The Utes are coming off a strong performance at the Mountain West Conference Tournament, winning three games before falling in the championship game in overtime. Kalee Whipple and Taryn Wicijowski were both named to the all-tournament team. Whipple averaged a double-double for the tournament (12.5 points, 11.3 rebounds) and Wicijowski scored 18.5 points per game. Halie Sawyer pulled down 9.8 rebounds per game with 10.5 points per game and had 10 blocks.
Whipple leads the Utes in scoring, shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 31.3 from beyond the 3-point line. Whipple is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game and is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Leading the Utes on the boards is Sawyer who is averaging 8.1 rpg. Wicijowski is the only other Utah player to average double figures with 14.6 ppg.
Utah is 3-6 all-time in four appearances in the WNIT. The Utes last appearance in the tournament was in 2007, when Utah beat Montana, 78-70 in the first round before falling to Illinois in the second round, 59-48.
The last meeting between the two teams was in 2007-08, with Utah coming away with an 85-59 win in Salt Lake City.
The Gaels In the WNIT
This year's post-season invitation marks the third WNIT appearance for Saint Mary's. The Gaels hosted two NIT games in 2000, beating Hawaii 75-60 before falling to Long Beach State (48-73) in the second round. In 2002, SMC traveled to Oregon for the first round, falling to the Ducks 61-72.
Two Time WCC Defender Of the Year
Louella Tomlinson was named the West Coast Conference Defender of the Year for her strong defensive play blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. The Aussie finished the regular season as the conference leader in blocked shots (6.3 bpg) and rebounds (11.0 rpg).
The junior was the first to break the NCAA Division-I career blocks record on February 11 against Gonzaga and has been battling with Michigan State senior Allyssa DeHaan for the final record at the end of the season. Tomlinson also broke the NCAA D-I single-season record on the same night and is 36 blocks away from tying the overall NCAA single-season record held by LaKisha Phifer from St. Paul's (D-II).
Tomlinson leads the conference in rebounds, averaging 11.0 rpg and she also dominates the defensive boards, averaging 9.4 drpg.
All-WCC and All-Freshman Teams
Along with being named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, Tomlinson was named to the All-WCC First Team along with senior Jontelle Smith. Smith was second on the team in scoring behind Tomlinson, averaging 13.4 ppg and shot 39.5 percent (73-for-185) from 3-point land, good for fourth best in the conference. Kate Gaze and Tifa Puletasi were named to the WCC All-Freshman Team after solid seasons from both newcomers. Gaze started 21-of-29 games for the Gaels and started all 14 conference games as a true freshman. The Aussie point guard dished out 46 assists and averaged 4.3 ppg, knocking down 25-of-77 from behind the 3-point line. Puletasi appeared in all 29 games for the Gaels and was a key reserve in the post position, averaging 2.9 rpg and 3.8 ppg.
NCAA D-1 Career and Single Season Blocks Leader
Louella Tomlinson recorded five blocks against Gonzaga on February 11, breaking the NCAA Division-I career and single-season blocks records. The career blocks record of 480 was previously held by TCU's Sandora Irvin (2002-05). Battling with Tomlinson for the NCAA career record is Michigan State senior Allyssa DeHaan. After regular season play, Tomlinson holds the NCAA career blocks record with 506 blocks while DeHaan is right on her heels with 502.
Tomlinson's Career Blocked Shots: 506
DeHaan's Career Blocked Shots: 502
Tomlinson's Single-Season Blocks: 189
