LAS VEGAS — Postseason play begins this Friday for the Gaels as they head to Las Vegas for the WCC Tournament at the Orleans Arena. Saint Mary's finished fifth in the conference and received a first round bye, so they will await the winner of the LMU-Pepperdine match up for their opponent in the second-round of the tournament.
 
If the Gaels take down the winner of the LMU-Pepperdine game they will advance to play 4-seed Portland on Saturday.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (15-14, 9-9) vs No. 8 Pepperdine (8-16, 4-11) or No. 9 LMU (9-18, 4-13)
Friday, March 4 at 12:00 p.m.
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
WATCH ONLINE and NBC Sports Bay Area | LISTEN (Brian Brownfield & Tim Fitzgerald)

IF THEY ADVANCE 
Saint Mary's (15-14, 9-9) vs. Portland (18-9, 8-7)
Saturday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. 
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
WATCH ONLINE and NBC Sports Bay Area | LISTEN (Brian Brownfield & Tim Fitzgerald)
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels stormed back from a 13-point, halftime deficit and trailed by nine with just 2:36 left to defeat the USF Dons 92-88 in overtime on Saturday.
 
Ali Bamberger and Madeline Holland each scored 11 points in the third to get the Gaels going as they shot 53% in the quarter and committed only three turnovers which the Dons got zero points from. A Tayla Dalton three pointer cut the Dons lead to 59-56 with 7:24 left in the game, only to see USF extended their lead back to nine with just 2:36 remaining.
 
But Dalton hit another three to cut it six and again give the Gaels the spark they needed. Taycee Wedin would be fouled on a three-point shot and hit all three free throws to cut the Dons lead to one with just 19 seconds left. A pair of USF free throws got made it 77-74, but with just 10 seconds left Holland nailed a three to tie it at 77 and the Gaels got their biggest stop of the game at that point before Holland grabbed the rebound to guarantee overtime.
 
Claudia Langarita hit a three to start overtime for USF, but Bamberger's offensive rebounding set up Dalton for a second chance basket to cut it to one. After a Bamberger layup, the Gaels defense and their free throw shooting the rest of the way finished off the Gaels big comeback. And the spark plug, Tayla Dalton, hit a long two with 19 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, before she and Bamberger sealed the deal with more clutch free throw shooting for the Gaels 92-88 victory.
 
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
The Lions head into Thursday's game with Pepperdine coming off two tough road losses against San Francisco and Gonzaga. The Lions' last win was against University of the Pacific on Feb. 19.
 
Standout guard, Ariel Johnson lead the Lions in scoring this season, as the junior finished with a total of 403 points, good for seventh in the conference. Johnson also led the team in assists with 100, eighth in the conference, as well as in steals with 50, which was sixth in the WCC. Alexis Mark led the Lions in rebounds with 197, third most in the WCC. Khari Clark led the team in blocks with 18, good for ninth most in the conference.

The Lions and the Waves met twice this season, as Pepperdine won both match ups by a combined eight points. The Lions went on a two-game winning streak after their first loss to the Waves, beating Pacific and Saint Mary's.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine is on a four-game losing streak and most recently lost to Portland, 85-49. The Waves hold the overall series lead between them and the Lions at 59-32. Pepperdine defeated LMU twice this season including a 61-55 win inside Firestone Fieldhouse and a 64-60 win at the Gersten Pavilion. The Waves and Lions are 3-3 against each other in the WCC Tournament.
 
Last year, the Waves fell in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament to Loyola Marymount 85-73. Pepperdine has multiple players in the top-20 in WCC stats. Becky Obinma is ninth in the conference in rebounding (6.4) and third in blocked shots (1.8). Ally Stedman ranks 14th in scoring (11.3) and ninth in minutes (31.5). Malia Bambrick is fourth in the conference in minutes (32.5). Meaali'i Amosa is 11th in the conference in rebounding (6.3) and tied for 15th in blocked shots (0.5). Kendyl Carson ranks sixth in the conference for assists (3.9).
 
ABOUT PORTLAND
The Pilots record is their best through 27 games since the 1997-98 season when they finished third in the WCC. Their fourth-place finish marks Portland second top-five finish in three seasons under head coach Michael Meek. It's just the fourth time since 2010 they've finished in the top four.

Three players earned All-WCC honors for Portland, with Alex Fowler making All-WCC First Team, Haylee Andrews making All-WCC Second Team and Lucy Cochrane earning All-WCC Honorable Mention. Fowler earned WCC Player of the Week honors three times this year, and is first in the WCC in field-goal percentage (55.9%) and fourth in points (17.6) and rebounds per game (7.8). Lucy Cochrane leads the nation in blocks per game (4.0) and ranking second in total blocks (100). Her 100 blocks broke the school record for blocks in a season.
 
#GaelsRise