Game #21
Saint Mary's Gaels (13-7, 6-3 WCC) vs. Portland Pilots (10-10, 2-7 WCC)
Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. PT
Moraga, Calif. — McKeon Pavilion
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Game #22
Saint Mary's Gaels (13-7, 6-3 WCC) vs. No. 15 Gonzaga (19-2, 8-1 WCC)
Saturday, February 2, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. PT
Moraga, Calif. — McKeon Pavilion
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MORAGA, Calif. — Riding a four-game win streak, the Gaels look to keep the wins coming this week with a match against Portland and No. 15 Gonzaga.
SCOUTING REPORT
Saint Mary's is ranked fourth in the conference and 48th in the RPI poll this week following two strong wins against Pepperdine and LMU. The team is also ranked 9th in the nation and 1st in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage (.398) while being ranked 10th in the nation and first in the conference in field goal percentage (.489). Megan McKay (.570) and Sam Simons (.547) hold the top two spots in the conference in field goal percentage, while Madeline Holland is close behind in fourth (.534). Overall, the Gaels lead the WCC in: field goal percentage (.489), 3-point FG% (.398), scoring offense (75.9), defensive rebounds (28.0 per game), and assists (16.7) per game).
Senior Sydney Raggio led the team with impressive performances in each of the matchups and received Muscle Milk Student Athlete of the Week. The San Bruno, Calif. native recorded her fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season, while recording 11 points in each contest and averaging 10.5 rebounds in the two games. Overall, she shot .562 (9-for-16) while amassing 10 assists and four blocks as well. Raggio leads the conference in defensive rebounding (6.5 per game) and is third in total average boards (8.2). Meanwhile, she is the team-leader in average: points (12.0), rebounds, minutes (27.5), and total blocks (15).
While leading in all of those categories, SMC is also leading in the important category of scoring offense. The Gaels are ranked first in the conference and 37th in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 75.9 points per game, which puts them more than a point ahead of the second place team in the conference, Gonzaga (74.6 points per game). Gaels Jasmine Forcadilla, Madeline Holland, Sam Simons, and Taycee Wedin all have three-point field-goal percentages over .400, while Holland (.469) and Simons (.464) are second and third in the conference.
PORTLAND
The Pilots have recorded a 10-10 record this season, however they have struggled in WCC play with hold a record of 2-7 and are ranked eighth in the conference. Portland is coming off of a close win against San Francisco last weekend and the squad has won two of their last five games since they saw SMC. The last time the two teams met, the Gaels took the 98-91 victory for their first conference win of the season.
Senior Julie Spencer is leading the Pilots this season with a shooting percentage of .447 and an average of 15.8 points per game. She is ranked fourth in the conference in rebounding, just behind third place Raggio, with an average of 7.9 rebounds per game. Haylee Andrews holds the top spot on the team with a three-point field-goal percentage of .368, followed closely by Spencer (.355).
GONZAGA
Gonzaga is having a strong season this year with an overall record of 19-2 and a conference record of 8-1. The squad is ranked second in the WCC behind BYU and 13th in the nation and are on a three-game win streak, but were recently handed their only conference loss on January 17 against BYU when they fell by three points. The Bulldogs will hit the road and face Pacific on Thursday before traveling to McKeon to take on the Gaels.
Leading the Bulldogs is senior Zykera Rice with an average of 14.1 points per game and a shooting percentage of .509, while also averaging the most rebounds on the team (6.2 per game). Rice is ranked fifth in the conference with 17 blocks and an average of 0.8, which is just ahead of Raggio who has 15 blocks. Jill Townsend has the highest three-point percentage on the squad (.500), while Katie Campbell has the highest for a starter (.479) which is ranked first in the WCC.
#GaelsRise
For ticket information to all home women's basketball games, call the SMC ticket office today at 925-631-4689 or click the link here to purchase your seats now.
