Games #16
Saint Mary's Gaels (WCC 4-0, 9-6) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (WCC 3-0, 14-1)
Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 6:00 pm PST
Spokane, Wash. — McCarthey Athletic Center
Live Stats | Watch 

Games #17
Saint Mary's Gaels (WCC 4-0, 9-6) vs. Portland Pilots (WCC 1-2, 8-6)
Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 2:00 pm PST
Portland, Ore. — Chiles Center
NBC Sports Northwest 
Live Stats | Watch 
 
MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels will travel to the Pacific Northwest this week to take on conference rivals Gonzaga and Portland.
 
LAST TIME OUT
SMC is on a five-game win streak dating back to December 21 against St. Bonaventure and are currently undefeated in conference competition. Last week, the Gaels played their first WCC matches at home and took wins against Pepperdine (85-78) and Loyola Marymount (86-70). Junior Emily Codding continued to impress as she recorded her sixth double-double with new career-highs in points (29) and rebounds (14) versus LMU after setting new highs the week before against Santa Clara (28 pts, 13 rebs). Head coach Paul Thomas also earned his 500th career win during the contest against the Waves and now has 265 wins with the program in his 14 years. Saint Mary's is currently ranked first in the conference and 34th in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 76.4 points per contest. The Gaels are also first in the conference and 22nd in the country with an average of 29.7 defensive rebounds per game.
  
WINNING WEDIN 
Sophomore Taycee Wedin has been on fire this season and was named WCC Player of the Week and Saint Mary's Student Athlete of the Week following her strong games against the Waves and the Lions. Wedin was as guaranteed as a sharp-shooter as you could get this past week as the Gaels are the only 4-0 team in the conference through two weeks. Wedin only took 15 shots between the two wins against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, but she made 11 of those shots, going 10-13 from three-point range. On just 15 shots, she scored a total of 38 points, shooting 73.3% on the week. Wedin ranks 5th in the NCAA in three-pointers made per game (3.47), 3rd in three-pointers made (52), and 2nd in the conference in percentage (48.1%, also 8th in the nation).
 
GONZAGA
The Bulldogs were strong through their non-conference schedule and have yet to drop a game in the WCC as they are 14-1 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. Last time out, Gonzaga beat the Toreros by a margin of 15 and held their opponents to 42 points, the lowest allowed by an opponent all season. Just two days earlier, the Bulldogs defeated the BYU Cougars 55-43 for their second conference win. The only game that Gonzaga lost occurred on November 17 against Stanford on the road. The Bulldogs are 6-0 at the McCarthey Athletic Center this season and will be playing their second WCC game at home against the Gaels. Gonzaga holds the all-time 27-13 record against Saint Mary's and they have won the last three matchups with SMC.
 
PORTLAND
The Pilots went 7-4 through their non-conference schedule and are 1-2 in West Coast conference play thus far. During their last contest, Portland won their first conference matchup against BYU after taking a 57-48 victory over the Cougars. The Pilots opened their season with a four-game win streak, but have since not been able to string together wins. Portland has been on the road since December 17 and will be playing their first conference competition at home against the Gaels on Saturday. The Pilots are 4-3 at home this year and they have not lost at home since December 1. Saint Mary's hold the 25-5 all-time record against Portland with the Pilots only having won once in the past decade (1/27/2018, UP 68-65).
 
#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.