MORAGA, Calif. — It took a little bit longer than they anticipated, but Saint Mary's Women's Basketball broke through in the WCC win column. Back at home on Thursday night against Pepperdine, Saint Mary's defeated the Waves 79-61 to earn their first win in conference play during the 2020-21 season. It was also the most complete team-win of the season, with many contributors and many bright spots. Saint Mary's is now 3-10 (1-6) while the Waves fall to 3-5 (0-4).
 
FUN FOR FRESHMEN
One of the big stories of Thursday night's win over Pepperdine was the play of the freshmen on this Gaels roster, in particular the likes of Ellie Croco and Tayla Dalton. Croco continued to put up career-best numbers, this time for the fourth straight game, as she scored 14 points to lead all Gaels. She was followed closely by Dalton, who scored ten points, for her best output in the last seven games (Dec. 21). When you add in the five from Leia Hanafin, the Gaels got 29 points from freshmen players, easily their best mark of the season.
 
DEEP DEPTH!
Thursday night's win marked the first time this season the Gaels have had five different players reach double-digits. In addition to Croco and Dalton, Jade Kirisome and Madeline Holland each added in 12 points in the winning effort. Holland added four rebounds while Kirisome grabbed six in one of her best performances of the season. Taycee Wedin also had a nice night, knocking down three triples and pulling in six rebounds en route to 11 points. The Gaels had 36 bench points on the night, nearly equaling that of the starters (43).
 
NEVER IN DOUBT
Saint Mary's pulled out to an early 7-0 lead and never looked on Thursday. Wedin hit the first shot of the game, and she was followed by a Kirisome three-pointer on the very next possession. Croco came through on the Gaels third possession, and suddenly, it seemed like the Gaels were in cruise control. In the first quarter alone, the Gaels led by as many as 13 (17-4). Saint Mary's held onto a ten-plus point lead for a majority of the game and never trailed.
 
IN THE TRENCHES
Saint Mary's continued to out-rebound the opposition in a strong way, winning the rebound battle 41-30. Where Pepperdine excelled, however, was on the offensive glass, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds. A lot of physical play in the paint led to free throws later in the game, where the teams combined for 39 free throws on Thursday. Saint Mary's went 14-18 from the stripe, their second most made free throws in a game this season.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will look to get on a winning streak as they host LMU on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm inside UCU Pavilion. The Lions are 4-3 in conference play after taking down Pacific on Thursday night, but much like Pepperdine, their offense has struggled for much of the season.