MALIBU, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball will head to Southern California to take on the Pepperdine Waves on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and LMU on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The Gaels will be looking for the sweep against the Waves and to even the season series with the Lions.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (10-12, 4-7) vs. Pepperdine (7-14, 2-9)
Thursday, February 2 at 6:00 p.m.
Firestone Field House – Malibu, Calif.   
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Saint Mary's (10-12, 4-7) vs. LMU (5-17, 2-9)
Saturday, February 4 at 3:00 p.m.
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles
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LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels again trimmed a double-digit, halftime deficit to a two-possession game, but weren't able to complete the comeback in a 67-54 loss to San Diego on Saturday night.
 
The Gaels trimmed a 16-point deficit down to six in the second half behind a spectacular shooting night from Taycee Wedin, who scored a season-high 25 points while tying her career high in three pointers made in a game with seven.
 
The seven three pointers on 10 attempts for Taycee Wedin tied the career high she set in the WBI Championship Game last March against Cleveland State. Her 25 points led all scorers and her career high of 27 points was also in a game against USD last February.
 
Ali Bamberger had 11 points in her return to action with four rebounds, and Hannah Rapp had five rebounds to lead the team.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE      
Pepperdine leads the WCC in rebounds averaging 39.5 per game and are ranked third in blocks per game with 3.3.
 
The Waves are led by sophomore Ally Stedman who averages 15.5 points per game, ranking her eighth in scoring on the WCC leaderboard. Stedman also leads the WCC in steals per game (1.8).
 
Theresa Grace Mbanefo is the second-leading scorer on the squad averaging 12.6 points per game, which is good for 15th in the WCC. Mbanefo ranks fourth in the WCC in shooting percentage at 52.9%. She also ranks 13th in rebounds per game (5.7) and 15th in blocks per game (0.7).
 
Marly Walls leads Pepperdine in assists and ranks fourth in the WCC averaging 4.5 per game. She averages 1.6 steals per game which is eighth in the WCC. Walls averages 11.8 points per game which is good for 16th in the WCC and averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Becky Obinma leads the Waves in rebounds with 7.1 and ranks seventh on the WCC leaderboard. Obinma averages 5.9 points per game. Meaali'i Amosa is one of three top rebounders for the squad, averaging 5.7 per game which ranks 12th on the WCC leaderboard. Amosa averages 5.4 points per game. KK Brodie leads Pepperdine in blocks with 16, which ranks 12th in the WCC. She averages 0.8 blocks per game, ranking her 10th in the conference.
 
ABOUT LMU
SMC and LMU were nearly statistically even in their previous meeting on January 5, with the one difference being a slight free throw advantage for the Lions, going 17 of 19 at the line compared to 11 of 14 for the Gaels.

LMU had a six-point lead over the Gaels for the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, but back-to-back buckets by Tayla Dalton cut the deficit to two at 59-57 with just over three minutes remaining.
 
A three pointer from Taycee Wedin tied it at 62-62 with two minutes remaining before LMU took back the lead on a basket in the paint, before the Gaels missed a three and a pair of free throws in the final minute.
 
They would have to foul LMU and the Lions player hit both free throws, but committed a technical by giving a shove to Hannah Rapp after the foul. Wedin would hit both of those technical free throws to bring it back within two with nine seconds left.
 
LMU would block the Gaels next shot, but miss both free throws on the other end, giving the Gaels life after Leia Hanafin grabbed the rebound and called time out with 1.1 seconds left.
 
The Gaels got the inbound to Wedin to go for the win at the top of the key, but the LMU defense closed out well, forcing the WCC all-time leader in threes to sidestep the defender and reload and had the buzzer go off with the ball still on her fingertips on a shot that missed slightly to the left in the 66-64 loss.
 
2022-23 YEARBOOK
The 2022-23 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.
 
#GaelsRise — 2022-23 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.