MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball will host three games this week, including their annual Thanksgiving Tournament. It will be the Gaels first ever meetings against St. Thomas of the Summit League, North Carolina A&T of the Coastal Athletic Association, and Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (2-2) vs. St. Thomas (2-1)
Tuesday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.    
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Saint Mary's (2-2) vs. North Carolina A&T (3-0)
Friday, November 24 at 6:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.    
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Saint Mary's (2-2) vs. Illinois State (3-1)
Saturday, November 25 at 3:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.    
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LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's Women's Basketball couldn't sustain a hot start at Rice and had a fourth quarter comeback come up short, falling 73-62 to the Owls on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Gaels led 20-11 after one quarter of play, buoyed by a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the quarter. Saint Mary's went 7 of 8 at the free-throw line and shot 6 of 14 from the field in that first frame, all while holding Rice to 26.3% shooting from the floor.
 
But Rice would score the first 10 points of the second half to go up 45-35, and led 54-44 at the end of the third at 54-44. Saint Mary's trailed by as many as 16 with 6:30 left to play, but they would make a game of it again with a 12-1 run in the fourth. A pair of Emily Foy three pointers cut the deficit to six points with just under two minutes left, and she had a chance to cut it to four before missing a layup.
 
That unconverted opportunity would allow the Owls to settle things back down for the home team, as they hit a pair of free throws and a layup to push the lead back to 10 and ice the win for Rice.
 
ABOUT ST. THOMAS
The Tommies were one of the most improved teams in the Summit League in 2022-23, appearing in their first conference tournament – and winning their first conference tournament game – last year. They enter their third season of Division I play with three starters from the tournament run returning for the 2023-24 season, and 11 players in total returning from the 2022-23 Summit League Tournament roster.

St. Thomas will need to fill the shoes of starting guard, and leading scorer, Maggie Negaard. The Second Team All-Conference selection led the team in points, points per game and three-point field goals made.

The team's starting point guard Jade Hill returns after averaging 11.3 points per game in 2022-23, and dishing out a team-leading 116 assists as a sophomore. Junior Jo Langbehn returns as the Tommies starting center after averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 2022-23.

The post position will be bolstered by the addition of Angelina Hammond, a transfer from neighboring Minnesota. The once highly-touted recruit appeared in 25 games for the Gophers in 2022-23 after stints at Miami Dade (2021-22), Southeastern (2019-21) and Sienna (2018-19).

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA A&T
The Aggies have two upsets under their belts already this season, with defeats of Wake Forest of the ACC, and Liberty who was predicted to finish second in Conference USA.

Redshirt sophomore center Chaniya Clark had an outstanding week in helping North Carolina A&T women's basketball program earn those big wins, as she was named the Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Week. Clark finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in the upset win over Wake Forest. Three days later, at Corbett Sports Center, Clark secured her third career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Aggies defeated Liberty 56-47.

She rattled off nine straight points in the third quarter to take A&T's lead from 26-20 to 35-23 in approximately two minutes of game action. Clark averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for the week and shot 11-for-24 (.458) from the field. The Aggies have won three straight, with Clark scoring in double figures in all three victories. 
 
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE
Redbirds graduate forward DeAnna Wilson earned Preseason All-MVC First Team honors, and Illinois State was picked to finish third by the preseason conference poll.  
 
Wilson averaged 13.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2022-2023 en route to All-MVC Second Team honors during her senior campaign. She finished the season ranked eighth in the Valley in rebounding and 12th in scoring as Illinois State won its first MVC Regular season title since 2009-2010. Wilson led the Redbirds in rebounding on the year and tallied eight points-rebounds double-doubles. It is the second straight season she has earned preseason honors from the Valley.
 
Wilson became the 27th player in program history to surpass 1,100 career points this season. Wilson is also 50 rebounds shy of collecting 700 in her career as a Redbird, which only nine other athletes have done in program history. She would become the first Redbird with 700 career rebounds since Kenyatta Shelton, who grabbed 707 career rebounds from 2006 to 2011. 
 
The Redbirds are coming off a third consecutive postseason appearance under seventh-year head coach and reigning MVC Coach of the Year Kristen Gillespie. Along with Wilson, a strong group of returners this season is headlined by 2023 All-MVC Defensive Team selection Kate Bullman and redshirt senior point guard Maya Wong.  
 
#GaelsRise — 2023-24 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.