Women's National Invitation Tournament First Round (WNIT)
Saint Mary's Gaels (20-11, 12-6 WCC) vs. Hawaii (15-16, 10-6 BWC)
Friday, March 22, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif.— McKeon Pavilion
Live Stats
Watch

MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels will make their tenth-consecutive WNIT appearance on Friday as they face Hawaii in the first round of the tournament.

SCOUTING REPORT
The Gaels ended the regular season with a record of 19-10 before advancing to the West Coast Conference Championships and picking up a dominant win over LMU (70-38) and a heartbreaking, double-overtime loss to No. 14 Gonzaga (78-77) in the semifinals. In the middle of the season, they went on a 5-game winning streak and stretched their run to nine wins in 10 contests. The Gaels are ranked first in the conference and 23rd in the country with an average of 76.2 points per game and have the second highest scoring margin in the WCC (+7.3). SMC is also ranked first in the conference and eighth in the nation with a team field goal percentage of 48.3. Historically, SMC's farthest run into the WNIT was in 2015 when they made it to the quarterfinals against UCLA. The Gaels' last hosted in 2016 when they faced Eastern Michigan in Moraga.

At the conclusion of the 2019 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Championship, senior Megan McKay was placed on the All-Tournament Team. McKay propelled the Gaels throughout the tournament with two impressive performances: a pair of double-doubles against Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals and 12th-ranked Gonzaga in the semifinals. With 27 total points and 27 total rebounds, she averaged 13.5 in both categories. In the contest against the Zags, her 16 boards were just two shy of tying the single-game record in a women's WCC Tournament game. She also saw a significant amount of time on the floor that day, playing in 45 of the game's 50 minutes. McKay is already the first player in WCC History to lead the conference in field goal percentage all four years, her career-field goal percentage (59.4) is the highest all-time in program history, and it is currently ranked 15th in the nation amongst active players.

McKay was also named to the All-Conference first team alongside teammate Sydney Raggio at the end of the season. Raggio is solidified in the Saint Mary's record books as a top rebounder in the program as she currently fourth all-time with 1,034. She is also ranked third on the all-time rebounding list with an average of 8.2 per game. The San Bruno Calif. native collected her 1,000th point during her junior season in a matchup against the Portland Pilots (Jan. 27, 2018). She currently has 1,530 points in her career and is set to score her second-most points in a season this year, as her personal best is 434 (2017-18) while she has recorded 396 thus far. After collecting her 1,000th rebound against Pacific on Senior night, she became just the fourth Gael in program history to have at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Another standout for Saint Mary's this season includes freshman Sam Simons, who was named to the All-Conference Freshman team after an outstanding first year. To this point in the season, she has averaged 11.2 points (third on the team) and her 50.4 field goal percentage is ranked seventh in the conference. Simons is also third on the team with a 3-point field goal percentage of .409, which is ranked fourth in the conference. She has played in all 31 games this season and has started in 12, including the last nine. She is averaging 26.6 minutes per game and posted a career-best, 28 points against Santa Clara on February 14.

HAWAII
The Rainbow Wahine visit Moraga with an overall record of 15-16 and went 10-6 in the Big West Conference. Friday's matchup will be the program's first appearance in a postseason tournament since the 2015-16 campaign. The last time UH won a tournament contest was in 2001 when they went to the semifinals of the WNIT, and they have not won a road game in the tournament since 1990 (Montana NCAA tournament). UH will be making its 10th appearance in the WNIT and its 17th post-season appearance in a national tournament. As a program, UH is 6-18 all-time in both the WNIT and NCAA tournaments and is 5-12 soley in the WNIT.

The Rainbow Wahine had four players (Tia Kanoa, Leah Salanoa, Courtney Middap, and Myrrah Joseph) selected to All-Conference Teams. Tia Kanoa was named to the All-Conference Second Team, started in all 29 games and averaged over 30 minutes per contest. She led the conference in assists for the second season in a row (141), averaging 4.9 per game, which is also tied for second in the conference.

Salanoa was named an honorable mention and she averaged eight points and four rebounds, while starting in all 28 games she played in throughout the year. She scored double-digits points in 11 games for the 'Bows including a career-high, 19 points against Portland on Nov. 16. She shot well from beyond the three-point arc, finishing fifth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 40.8 percent. Middap was also named an honorable mention as she started in 21 of 28 games, averaging 24 minutes per game while recording over eight points, as well as two rebounds and two assists a game. 

Joseph was named to the All-Freshman team, playing in 26 games for UH. Her most productive game of the season came at LBSU, where she scored a career-high, 15 points and nine rebounds.

#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.