WBB | Saint Mary's Opens Season Tomorrow in Phoenix

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Saint Mary's women's basketball begins the long awaited 2020-21 season this week with a three-game tournament held in Phoenix. The Gaels will face off with VCU, Stephen F. Austin, and the host, Arizona State, across five days beginning on Wednesday.

GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 1 vs. Virginia Commonwealth
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. PT
Watch: Facebook Live
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Game No. 2 vs. Stephen F. Austin
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m. PT
Watch: Facebook Live
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Game No. 3 vs. Arizona State
Date/Time: Monday, Nov. 30 at 3:00 p.m. PT
Watch: Pac-12
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SEASON PREVIEW
Saint Mary's will look to bounce back this year after an unusual 2019-20 season that saw the team go 12-19. With good health and a deeper bench, SMC aims to return to their winning ways and contend for yet another postseason bid.

The Gaels return a number of key players from last season including point guard Madeline Holland, who led the team in assists, and sharpshooter Taycee Wedin, who broke the West Coast Conference record for made threes in a single season last year. Brianna Simonich also returns after starting 30 games as a junior.

Finau Tonga missed all but three games as a true freshman due to a shoulder injury but will be ready to go for the team's season opener against VCU. Emily Codding, the team's second highest scorer from last season, should return at some point during the middle of the season after suffering an ACL tear at the tailend of the 2019-20 campaign.

Transfers Amy West and Jade Kirisome will also provide a boost for the Gaels after sitting out last season due to NCAA regulations. West comes from Liberty while Kirisome previously played at Furman.

The team's most significant loss will be the absence of junior Sam Simons who opted to stay in her native Australia this year due to COVID-19 concerns. Simons led the team in scoring last season and was chosen to the All-WCC Preseason Team earlier in the month.

ABOUT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
VCU went 20-12 a year ago and an impressive 13-3 in A10 action. The Rams had a strong finish to their season by winning six of their final seven games and also had a seven-game win streak to begin conference play.

VCU returns five of their top six scorers from 2019-20 including their leader Tera Reed, who averaged 15.2 ppg, and Taya Robinson, who scored 11.5 per contest while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, the Rams scored only 59.1 points per game compared to 68.7 by SMC.

The Gaels and Rams have never met prior to Wednesday's matchup.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The Ladyjacks had a strong showing out of the Southland Conference with a 23-6 overall record and 16-4 performance in league play. The team looks bound for another successful season as they return their five leading scorers and had three players named to the all-conference preseason team.

Aiyana Johnson and Stephanie Visscher both scored 13.3 points to lead the team last year and will be juniors this season. Marissa Banfield and Zya Nugent also scored more than nine per game last year. Contrary to the Gaels, SFA does most of their damage down low as they shot only 30 percent from 3-point land in 2019-20.

Both teams have also never played each other before.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
ASU continues the trend of 20+ game winners from last year as the Sun Devils posted a 20-11 overall record. Arizona State went 10-8 in Pac-12 play before bowing out of the conference tournament with a first round loss to Cal.

The Sun Devils have an interesting roster makeup of six freshmen, two sophomores, five juniors, and one senior. The team lost five of their top six scorers over the summer making sophomore Eboni Walker the team's top returner at 6.5 ppg. Junior forward Jayde Van Hyfte is the team's only returning starter.

Saint Mary's has knocked off Arizona State in each of the team's two previous meetings although the most recent matchup was in 1995.

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