MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Women's Basketball will have three games in the next five days, taking on the University of San Francisco at home on Thursday and then hitting the road to take on Loyola Marymount on Saturday and a re-scheduled game at Pepperdine on Monday. SMC will also be celebrating Australia Heritage Night on Thursday at UCU Pavilion, honoring the Gaels multiple players from down under, including three on the current roster.
 
The Gaels have won two of their last three games, and fans are locked in to the "Wedin watch" as senior Taycee Wedin is just one three pointer away from tying the program's career record of 268 threes set by Jontelle Smith from 2005-2010.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (9-7, 3-2) vs USF (9-10, 3-4)
Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Saint Mary's (9-7, 3-2) vs LMU (5-11, 0-6)
Saturday, January 29 at 12:00 p.m.
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles
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Saint Mary's (9-7, 3-2) vs Pepperdine (5-8, 1-3)
Monday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m.
Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, Calif.
Watch Live | Live Stats |

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's Women's Basketball played well against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at UCU Pavilion, but the Zags pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 66-53 win, in a game whose final score didn't reflect the battle it was.
 
Though the Gaels hadn't led since late in the first quarter, they trailed by just one point at the end of the quarter and at the end of the half. They trailed by only three points to start the fourth, staying with the Zags until late in the game.
 
It looked like the Zags would assert themselves to start the third, but the Gaels would not allow the lead to get past six after a burst by the Bulldogs in the first minute. Ali Bamberger cut the lead right back to one with five straight points in the paint. The sophomore would cut the lead to one two more times in the third, as she scored all of the Gaels next 11 points to finish the quarter, making sure the Zags never led by more than three and by just one at the end of the quarter.
 
The Bulldogs just shot 10 percent better from three-point range. That along with the Zags winning the rebounding battle by 12 were the two difference makers in a game that was pretty evenly matched otherwise.

Bamberger led all scorers with 22 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds at eight with Madeline Holland, who also scored in double figures with 13 points.
 
The Gaels are now 2-4 when they have a shooting percentage from the floor in the 30s and 1-6 when their opponent out shoots them, 2-6 when their opponent has the rebounding advantage.  
 
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 USF
The Dons return reigning WCC newcomer of the year Ioanna Krimili to go alongside veterans Lucija Kostic, Abby Rathbun and Kia Vaalavirta. USF brought in three transfers and four freshman recruits to add to the core of a team that made it to the second round of the WNIT during the spring.
 
USF has won three straight – all at home – where they are 6-1 this season. The Gaels are 45-28 all time against the Dons, with USF having won four straight meetings, including at the WCC tournament last March. Before that, however, the Gaels had won seven straight against the Dons and nine of the last 10.
 
ABOUT LMU
The Gaels won the home match up with the Lions on January 11, 82-63. It was each team's first WCC game of the season after a few postponements due to COVID-19. The Lions are still looking for their first WCC win of the season.
 
Aarika Hughes was hired as the program's Head Coach in April 2021 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.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Saint Mary's won their home match up with Pepperdine on January 15, 70-53 after a dominating the second and third quarters against the Waves.
 
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.
 
#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