MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball has added a marquee matchup to their non-conference schedule for the 2022-23 season.
 
The Gaels originally released their non-conference schedule on July 25, but since then they have added a trip to Southern California to take on USC on Wednesday, December 21 at 2:00 p.m.
 
It will be just the third meeting ever between the two programs, with SMC winning both games. They defeated the Trojans 71-55 on December 19, 2013 in Los Angeles, and 64-58 the following year at home on December 6, 2014.
 
The two teams were very evenly matched in 2013, with USC finishing at 22-13 and SMC at 23-10 the year the Gaels defeated the Trojans by 16 points. USC would win the Pac-12 Tournament before losing to St. John's in the NCAA tournament. Saint Mary's would beat San Diego in the WCC tourney before a loss to Gonzaga, and defeat CSU Bakersfield in the WNIT before a loss to UTEP.
 
The Gaels were 23-11 the following year when they beat USC by six, and advanced all the way to the elite eight of the 2015 WNIT before losing to UCLA. The Trojans finished 15-15 that season.
 
SMC finished 18-15 last season and won the Women's Basketball Invitational, while USC was 12-16 in 2021-22.
 
Current Gaels Assistant Coach Mariya Moore finished her playing career at USC after transferring from Louisville, and averaged 13 points per game under former Trojans head coach Mark Trakh.
 
USC is currently coached by Lindsay Gottlieb, who was previously the head coach at Cal from 2011 to 2019 and played the Gaels six times during that span. She recently returned to college coaching after serving as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first NCAA Women's Head Coach to be hired by an NBA team.
 
Tickets for the upcoming Saint Mary's Women's Basketball season are available by clicking HERE, and group youth ticket packages are available by clicking HERE.