LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Saint Mary's women's basketball team (22-8) takes on No. 19 Gonzaga (27-4) in the West Coast Conference semifinals in the Orleans Arena on Monday at 12:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the WCC title game on Tuesday, with an NCAA automatic bid on the line.
The Gaels reached the semifinals by rallying from 17-points down in the second-half against San Diego to pull out a 60-58 win on Friday night. Gonzaga defeated San Francisco in the quarterfinals to advance and play the Gaels. The Bulldogs are the top seed in the WCC Tournament.
Below is a quick look at the previous match-ups between the Gaels and Bulldogs.
SMC 79, Gonzaga 78 (12/28/13)
In a roller coaster game of emotions for both teams, the Gaels clamped down on defense during the final GU possessions to lock-up the West Coast Conference opener. Saint Mary's was led by Jackie Nared with 27 points and 11 rebounds while Danielle Mauldin added 24 points and 23 rebounds, a career-high in the rebounding department.
SMC was down 71-69 with 16 seconds left and Nared with the ball. She would pump fake to get her defender in the air and sink a three-pointer with .3 seconds on the clock and the Gaels up 72-71. GU would draw an SMC foul and sink 1-of-2 free-throws to send the game into OT. SMC locked down the Bulldogs on the final possession to capture the win.
Gonzaga 75, SMC 65 (2/27/14)
Despite trailing by as many as 15 in the second-half, the Gaels pulled within six points in the final minute. Kate Gaze and Jackie Nared hit three-pointers and the Bulldogs struggled from the line all night, converting just 11-of-18 from the charity stripe. The Gaels hit 21-of-27 from the line.
Danielle Mauldin led the Gaels with 20 points and 12 rebounds, good for her 21st double-double of the year. Gaze added 17 points, but saw her free-throw streak end at 37 consecutive with a 7-for-8 night from the line. Nared added 14 points and was limited defensively with foul trouble, fouling out in the final minutes.
With Gonzaga's 75-65 win in Spokane, the Bulldogs own a 4-3 series edge in the last seven match-ups. Looking at the recent series history suggests the 2014 WCC Semifinal will be an instant classic.
2/14/13 Bulldogs 69, Gaels 54 (Spokane)
1/10/13 Gaels 54, Bulldogs 51 (Moraga)
3/3/12 Bulldogs 83, Gaels 78 (2012 WCC Tournament)
1/28/12 Bulldogs 75, Gaels 70 (Moraga)
1/14/12 Gaels 66, Bulldogs 63 (Spokane)
One of the biggest wins in recent SMC history came against GU in Spokane during the 2011-12 season. On January 14, 2012, the Gaels ended Gonzaga's 34-game conference winning streak as the Bulldogs had not lost a WCC game in nearly three years. The 66-63 SMC victory was a trigger to spark the latest of several close battles between the Gaels and Bulldogs.
SMC's last WCC Championship game appearance came in the 2011 WCC Tournament. The Gaels fell to the Bulldogs as the Louella Tomlinson Gaels were defeated by the Courtney Vandersloot led Bulldogs.
