Games #12
Saint Mary's Gaels (5-6) vs. San Francisco Dons (7-5)
Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 2:00 pm PST
San Francisco — War Memorial Gym
Live Stats | Watch
 
Games #13
Saint Mary's Gaels (5-6) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (6-5)
Monday, December 30, 2019 at 5:00 pm PST
Santa Clara, Calif. — Leavey Center
Live Stats | Watch  
 
MORAGA, Calif. — While 2019 winds down, West Coast Conference play is starting up as Saint Mary's will visit USF and Santa Clara this weekend for their first WCC contests of the season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Gaels picked up a loss against the Knights and a win versus the Bonnies at the UCF Tournament in Florida. Despite a hot, 21-point second quarter for Saint Mary's against UCF on Friday, it was ultimately the Knights who prevailed and took the 67-58 victory to open the tournament. SMC bounced back on Saturday as a number of dominant runs and a season-high 17 points from junior Madeline Holland secured the 72-57 win over St. Bonaventure. Saturday's win against the Bonnies was the Gaels' first road win of the season, as they had dropped their previous four away matchups. 
 
BOARDS ON BOARDS
Saint Mary's has had a strong rebounding presence the entire season and they only continue to get better as they progress. The Gaels are currently ranked second in the conference and 47th nationally with a rebounding margin of 7.5 per contest. SMC recorded a season-high, 55 total rebounds against UC Santa Barbara in their second game of the season and later recorded a season-high, 20 rebound margin in their win over UC Davis. Saint Mary's is also ranked third in the conference in total rebounds on the season with 444 thus far. Emily Codding leads the team with a total of 93 rebounds and 8.45 per game this season, both of which have her ranked fourth in the WCC. Codding is also currently tied for first in the conference and 34th in the country in double doubles this year with five.
 
SAN FRANCISCO
The Dons have collected a 7-5 non-conference record as they look to open WCC play against the Gaels. Most recently, USF took a narrow 68-61 win against UC Irvine after falling 73-54 against Washington at the Husky Classic last weekend. Prior to the loss versus the Huskies, San Francisco had been on a four-game win streak dating back to November 29. The Dons will welcome the Gaels to War Memorial Gym, where they have a 3-2 record so far this season after winning their last two home matchups against Sacramento State and Cal State Fullerton. San Francisco is currently ranked first in the conference and 26th in the nation in rebounds with a total of 507 on the year.
 
SANTA CLARA
The Broncos are 6-5 this season following the completion of non-conference competition and they will play Pacific in their WCC-opener on Saturday prior to their matchup against Saint Mary's. Santa Clara has won their last two contests after they took a 76-55 win against Cal State Northridge followed by a big 90-66 victory over Fresno State. The Broncos have yet to win more than two games in a row this year and their longest losing streak is three games. However, SCU has only lost one game at the Leavey Center so far this season as they now have a 3-1 record on their home court. Santa Clara is second in the conference this season in the scoring offense category as they are averaging 72.8 points per contest.
 
#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home basketball games, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.