LAS VEGAS — In their first game of the 2020 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament, Saint Mary's Women's Basketball needed to make a number of adjustments in the second half to remain competitive with LMU. They did just that, overtaking the Lions in the second half and emerging winners with a 72-63 final score to advance to day two of the tournament on Friday.
 
IMPORTANT ADJUSTMENTS
 
The Gaels were getting dominated down low in the first half, with the Lions outscoring the Gaels 22-8 in the paint in the first half, and owning an advantage on offensive rebounds. In the second half, the Gaels started playing more of Claire Ferguson, limited with an ankle problem, but she delivered in her minutes. In just 16 minutes on the floor, Ferguson grabbed 11 rebounds, the second-most for her in a game this season. She was joined by Tyra Moe, who hauled in 10 rebounds, and the Gaels were able to shut down the Lions post play in the second half.
 
CAN'T STOP SHOOTING
 
The Gaels also got Katie Rathbun back from injury, as she missed the last two games with a concussion. All she did in her return to game action is put up a career-best 15 points on five made three-pointers, including three that either tied or put the Gaels in front. Her shooting was part of 10 made threes for the Gaels, as well as the 100^th and 101^st of the season for Taycee Wedin, the most in WCC history for a single season.
 
FREE POINTS
 
The Gaels were able to have more success from the free throw line than the Lions, despite LMU getting to the line the 12^th-most times in the country coming into Thursday's game. SMC went 12-15 from the line, with Sam Simons going 7-8 in her trips, helping her get to a team-best 18 points. Saint Mary's led the conference in free throw shooting percentage during the regular season, and they used that to their advantage late in the win over LMU.
 
MOVING ON
 
Saint Mary's will now take on sixth-seeded Pepperdine tomorrow, Friday, at 2:00 pm. The Gaels and Waves split their matchups during the regular season, with the home team winning on each occasion. The two teams went into overtime in Malibu where the Waves prevailed 73-64 on February 1 in their most recent battle. While the Gaels have played one game already, the Waves lost their last four games in the regular season, giving SMC a chance to pounce into the quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
#GaelsRise