MORAGA, Calif. — After a pause in their schedule due to health and safety protocols, the Saint Mary's Women's Basketball Team beings WCC play on Tuesday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m. when they host the Loyola Marymount University Lions at UCU Pavilion. That game is was slated to take place on January 6 but was postponed. The Gaels will honor senior Taycee Wedin in the pregame ceremonies for her 1,000 points scored as a member of the SMC Women's Basketball Program.  
 
The Gaels will play two other games this week that are expected to go on as scheduled, as the Gaels will travel to Provo, Utah to take on the No. 18 BYU Cougars on Thursday and come back home to host Pepperdine on Saturday.
 
Saturday's game will feature a Gael Fan Fest put together by Saint Mary's Alumni that will include a DJ and a bounce house from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (6-5) vs LMU (5-5)
Tuesday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Saint Mary's (6-5) at No. 18 BYU (12-1)
Thursday, January 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Marriott Center – Provo, Utah
Watch Live | Live Stats |
 
Saint Mary's (6-5) vs Pepperdine (4-5)
Saturday, January 15 at 12:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Tickets

LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels battled with the Cal Bears for a quarter and a half before the Bears pulled away for a 73-55 victory over the Gaels. Saint Mary's trailed just 26-24 with 4:42 remaining in the second quarter at the media timeout, but the Bears would cash in on the Gaels turnovers and cold shooting to go on a 9-1 run to finish the half up 35-25. The Gaels shot just 22% in the second and the Bears reclaimed the rebounding lead, out rebounding SMC 13-6 in the second, all while holding Saint Mary's to just six points in the quarter.
 
Saint Mary's made a run to trim the deficit to single digits after being down by 14 to start the fourth. After a pair of Madeline Holland free throws, the Gaels got back-to-back three pointers from Tayla Dalton and Ali Bamberger to cut it to eight at 56-48 with 7:31 remaining.
 
But the Bears would stretch the lead back to double digits for good taking a 64-49 lead into the last time out at 64-49 with just over six minutes remaining. Holland finished with 11 points and nine rebounds and Bamberger had 12 points with eight boards. Taycee Wedin hit two more three pointers, bringing her to just 14 away from tying the program record.
 
2021-22 YEARBOOK
The 2021-22 Saint Mary's Basketball Yearbook is available HERE. This contains all of your information on both Saint Mary's basketball programs, coach and player profiles, as well as Saint Mary's, administration, and fan information.

ABOUT LMU
Aarika Hughes was hired as the program's Head Coach in April 2021 by Athletic Director Craig Pintens and is in her first season with the Lions. Hughes joins LMU from the University of Southern California where she has served as associate head coach since 2019 and been part of the coaching staff for four years.
 
Hughes has experience as a coach and a standout student-athlete. At USC she led the women's basketball team as captain from 2007-2010. Hughes began her coaching career in New Mexico with five seasons as an assistant at New Mexico State (2011-16) and a year at the University of New Mexico (2016-17). Hughes returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach at USC in 2017.
 
ABOUT BYU
The No. 18 Cougars were picked to win the WCC in the conference's annual preseason poll. The team returns nearly its entire roster one year removed from advancing to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament – where it took eventual NCAA Runner-Up Arizona down to the wire – and are guided by 2021 WCC Coach of the Year Jeff Judkins, who completed his 20th season in 2020-21.
 
Shaylee Gonzales, Lauren Gustin and Paisley Harding were named to the WCC preseason team. Gonzales was the 2021 WCC Co-Player of the Year led the Cougars in scoring last season with 17.8 points per game, scoring in double figures in 23 of 25 games and led the team in steals (2.4), and assists (3.6) per game. She was named one of 25 members of the preseason watch list for the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner.

Gustin, an AP All-America honorable mention, also earned All-WCC First-Team honors last year. The 6-foot-1 forward finished tops in the WCC and No. 6 nationally with 12.6 rebounds per game. She was No. 11 in the country with 15 double-doubles during the 2020-21 season. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced Gustin as one of the 20 watch list candidates for the 2022 Katrina McClain Award. Named after the two-time All-American and 1987 National Player of the Year, the annual award in its fifth year recognizes the top power forwards in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
 
Harding was BYU's second-leading scorer with 14.1 points per game and earned All-ACC First Team accolades in 2020-21. She hit double digits in scoring in 19 of 25 games.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine returns four starters from last year's team. Malia Bambrick was the second-leading scorer on last year's team, scoring 10.7 points per game and shooting 36.3% from three, good for first on the team. She also ranks eighth on the Pepperdine all-time three-point record list with 132 made.
 
Cheyenne Givens also returns to Malibu, after moving into a starting role as a junior. She averaged 9.0 points, led the team in assists (48/2.1 per game) and steals (39/1.7 per game).
Jayda Ruffus-Milner had a solid sophomore campaign last year, after scoring 6.3 points per game and bringing down 5.0 rebounds per game. She also had 11 blocks and 27 steals, both second-best on the team.
 
Kristen Dowling enters her third season as Pepperdine's head women's basketball coach. During her first two seasons with the Waves, she has a record of 21-33. Last season, the team had a 5-18 overall record, including a 2-16 WCC record. Her first year at the helm, she led the team to a 16-15 overall record, including an 8-10 WCC record. The team reached the semifinals of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas before falling to San Diego.
 
Prior to Pepperdine, Dowling was the leader of Claremont- Mudd-Scripps' program for seven years. She led the Athenas to six straight SCIAC regular-season championships as well four SCIAC Tournament championships and two NCAA Division III Tournaments. Along the way, the team had six straight 20-win seasons including five seasons with at least 23 wins.
 
#GaelsRise — 2021-22 tickets and ticket packages are on sale now! To purchase tickets, click HERE. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689…Saint Mary's Basketball…#TogetherAgain