SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — West Coast Conference play began on Saturday afternoon conference-wide, and Saint Mary's Women's Basketball opened up on the road against the University of San Francisco. Having won each of the last six matchups against the Dons, the Gaels entered with just five losses in the first 29 matchups of this rivalry. In the 30^thinstallment, the Gaels extended the win streak by pulling ahead in the second half and winning by a final score of 86-79. With the win, Saint Mary's pulls even at .500 with a record of 6-6 (1-0) while the Dons fall to 7-6 (0-1).
 
CLOSING OUT STRONG
Saint Mary's trailed by as many as eight points in the second quarter, a surprise given the recent history of success for the Gaels in this rivalry. The shooting finally caught fire in the final five minutes of the quarter, when Saint Mary's put up 13 points over the last 5:21 and held the Dons to just four points. Katie Rathbun was the one who got the ball rolling with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 36-31, and the it was Sam Simons tying the game up at 38-38 with a three-pointer from the corner. Only one point was made in the final three minutes of the half, courtesy of a Madeline Holland free throw, but the Gaels entered the intermission in front.
 
ROARING 20s
While we are just four days away from entering the 2020s, the Gaels had a pair of players performing in the 20s on Saturday afternoon. Simons led the Gaels with 23 points, while hitting three shots from beyond the arc to help solidify a solid outing. She also contributed with seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocks. She was nearly matched shot for shot by Holland, who put up 22 points on eight made shots. Holland also led the team in boards with eight.
 
CHARITY
One area that Saint Mary's has struggled in during the early part of the season has been free throw shooting, where the Gaels entered the day ranked ninth out of ten teams in the West Coast Conference in percentage from the charity stripe. That number will climb handsomely after their first WCC win of the season, in which the Gaels went 19-21 from the free throw line, a mark of 90.5% overall. This stands as their best performance thus far from the free throw line and a great sign moving deeper into the WCC slate.
 
UP NEXT
Game number two of the WCC season gets underway on Monday night in the Peninsula as the Gaels travel to Santa Clara University. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm and will be the only last game of the 2019 portion of the season. Saint Mary's returns home for it's WCC home opener on Thursday, January 2 against Pepperdine.
 
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