MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's women's basketball heads into the 2018-19 season looking to maintain their status as one of the top contenders in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels have been a model of consistent success under head coach Paul Thomas as each of the last seven seasons have produced 20-plus wins for the program.
 

MOMENTS TO REMEMBER
 

Last year, SMC experienced much success during the regular season, finishing second in the WCC with a 13-5 conference mark (20-11 overall). Four times the Gaels found themselves with a WCC Player of the Week as Stella Beck (a senior at the time) and Megan McKay (a junior at the time) each received the honor two times. 15 of their 20 wins came from three 5-game win streaks including a 5-0 start to the conference schedule (the team's best start since the 1999-00 season). Saint Mary's was strong offensively all year and their efforts found them nationally ranked at the end of the season, as their .478 field goal percentage was the ninth-best in the country. Five Gaels were awarded spots on the All-WCC Team: Beck and McKay (First Team), junior Sydney Raggio (Second Team), Madeline Holland (All-Freshman Team), and sophomore Jasmine Forcadilla (Honorable Mention).
 

RETURNING GAELS
 

12 Gaels will return to the 2018-19 roster including five seniors: Carly Turner, Morgan Malloy, Sydney Raggio, Katie Rathbun, and Megan McKay.

McKay is coming off of a career season where she was named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team. She led the conference in field goal percentage (.608) while also finishing among the top-10 in scoring (sixth, 15.3 points per game) and rebounding (ninth, 7.3 per game). The 6-foot-3 forward was twice given the WCC Player of the Week award and also received Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week honors two times last season. 
 

"Being a senior, I want to be able to lead our team to becoming WCC Champions," said McKay. "I want to be able to step out on the court and help everyone achieve their best performance. We have a lot of experienced seniors on this team, so we will all be there to support each other and get the team going in the right direction. This season we will have a lot of depth which is exciting because everyone has a high level of trust, responsibility, and a bigger role to play."
 

Fellow senior Raggio will be another cornerstone for the Gaels this season. As a junior, she claimed a spot on the All-WCC Second Team after starting all 31 games and finishing among the conference's top-10 in four categories: rebounding (third, 9.0 per game), total blocks (third, 37), field goal percentage (fourth, .532), and scoring (ninth, 14.0 points per game). The San Bruno, Calif. Native was also twice named the Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week. Raggio was also one of SMC's best all-around players last season, nearly averaging a double-double with 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Her average points were third-highest on the team and her rebounds led all 13 Gaels who touched the ball in 2017-18.
 

"It's definitely a sad, but also an exciting feeling to be entering my senior season as a Gael. I'm really looking forward to it though because this team has a lot of potential for the coming year and I cannot wait to watch it all unfold. As a senior, I feel the responsibilities of being an open guide for the lowerclassmen and also making sure the team stays on track on and off the court."
 

"We expect a lot out of our seniors," said Thomas. "They have experienced everything and bring a lot of on-the-court experience. However, it is their off-the-court leadership which will be the most beneficial for our team." 

MEET THE NEW GA^LS
 

SMC will also look for production from three newcomers: two true freshman and a redshirt freshman who will see their first collegiate action in 2018-19: Sam Simons, Taycee Wedin, and Milly Yates.
 

Simons joins the Gaels with a copious amount of international competition under her belt including winning a gold medal in the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships in Spain.
 

"Simons is a great scorer," said head coach Paul Thomas. "She brings tremendous international experience and has been a seamless fit to our team."
 

She is currently in India with Basketball Australia to compete for the Gems Squad in the 2018 FIBA U18 Asian Championships.
 

"Everyone has been very welcoming," said Simons. "The atmosphere here is pretty incredible. I've never been a part of a group that is as united as we are."
 

Wedin comes to Saint Mary's as the reigning 5A Oregon State Player of the Year. She was a 4-year letter winner at La Salle Prep who she led to four-straight Northwest Oregon Conference Championships.
 

"Taycee can really shoot the ball and has a very high basketball IQ," said Thomas. "She is one of those people when they shoot the ball, you know it's going in." 
 

Meanwhile, Yates spent the last year redshirting with SMC and came to Saint Mary's as a 5-time selectee to the New South Wales Mestro State team that competed in the Australia Junior Championships. She was also selected as the co-captain for the U-18 squad in 2016 amongst numerous other accolades.
 

"Milly Yates' toughness and aggressiveness is something that fits perfectly into our program," said Thomas.
 

FINAL THOUGHTS
 

"Our goal for the year remains the same," said Thomas. "We would like to win the West Coast Conference, Conference Tournament, and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament."
 

"We have big plans for this season," said Raggio. "We want to be WCC champs. This is our goal every year, and every year it is right there for us to grab, we just have to take it."