MORAGA, Calif. — It's long been known that Kyle Bowen is one of the best defensive players not just on the Gaels, but in the West Coast Conference. That has been on display as conference play has started up, helping lead Bowen to the first Bay Alarm Student-Athlete of the Week award win of the 2023 portion of the season.
 
Bowen was all over the offensive and defensive glass in the first week of conference play, with 28 total rebounds across two Saint Mary's wins. In the conference opener against San Diego, he racked up 13 rebounds, which represented a career-best. If that wasn't enough, he added 15 more rebounds in a road win at Santa Clara two days later, giving him the lofty total of 28 for the week. Nine of those rebounds came on the offensive glass. Bowen also added 10 points, six assists, and five blocks.
 
The rebounding numbers for Bowen have been on a meteoric rise over the past few weeks, as he is now just one rebound shy of Mitchell Saxen for the team lead. Bowen is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, but that mark is up to 11.3 rebounds per game over the last six games. He's also been great from beyond the arc, shooting at 47.4% from three-point range, the best on the Gaels among any player with at least 30 attempts.
 
Saint Mary's returns to West Coast Conference play for the remainder of the regular season, with their next game against Portland on Saturday evening inside University Credit Union Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm on the WCC Network, with Alex Jensen providing the simulcast. The Gaels won their only matchup against the Pilots last year (in Portland), and have not last to the Pilots in their last 10 games, dating back to 2015.