MALIBU, Calif. — For the final time during the 2019-20 regular season, the Pepperdine Waves and the Saint Mary's Gaels met up with a pivotal conference game on the line. Both teams are in the thick of the middle of the West Coast Conference Standings, and both teams were looking to sweep their weekend of games. With the game coming down to extra basketball, the Waves were able to outlast the Gaels and pick up a 73-64 win in overtime.
 
GETTIN' FERGIE WITH IT
 
One area the Gaels are striving to improve on as the season continues is their play in the post, where they are often a bit undersized compared to the opposition. On Thursday against LMU, Tyra Moe recorded her first double-double, and on Saturday against the Waves, Claire Ferguson joined her with a great output. Ferguson recorded 8 points with 10 rebounds, with the rebound total representing a career-best. Her point total came on 3-4 shooting, her best output since November 30 against Western Kentucky.
 
GAEL WATCH
Despite the beautiful weather in Southern California on Saturday, the forecast called for a "Gale Watch" throughout the day, with heavy winds out on the Pacific Ocean. That became a "Gael Watch" inside the Firestone Fieldhouse, as the Gaels were all over the Waves on the offensive and defensive glass, especially early in the game. Ferguson recorded a career-best in rebounds and Brianna Simonich tied a career-best with nine rebounds, part of an effort that saw all seven Gaels who saw significant minutes hauling in at least three rebounds.
 
THE FINAL MINUTES
With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, the Gaels and Waves were deadlocked at 53, but the Gaels were struggling with their shots. As time began to wind down, with the Waves up 59-56, Taycee Wedin hit the biggest shot to that point. With the shot clock winding down and about 33 seconds left, she found herself open from the right wing and banked in a deep three to tie the game at 59, eventually propelling the game to overtime.
 
In the overtime period, the biggest problem the Gaels had was putting the Waves in the bonus, which happened at the end of the fourth. Every foul led to free throws for the Waves, and Pepperdine went 10-10 in overtime from the charity stripe. Madeline Holland hit a big three-pointer to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 38 seconds remaining, but fouls told the story of the bonus period.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Gaels return home to the Bay Area for a pair of games next weekend, ones that are very important if the Gaels wish to climb up in the WCC standings. First up, they will host Portland on Thursday night at 6:30 pm as they celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Saturday is the biggest game of the season, as the Gaels host No. 12 Gonzaga at 2:00 pm, part of a doubleheader with the men's team taking the floor that night.
 
#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.