PORTLAND, Ore. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball heads to the Pacific Northwest this week, where they will play Portland on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and No. 20 Gonzaga on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (12-14, 6-9) at Portland (18-7, 12-2)
Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 p.m.
Chiles Center – Portland, Ore.    
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Saint Mary's (12-14, 6-9) at Gonzaga (23-3, 13-1)
Saturday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center – Spokane, Wash.  
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LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's Women's Basketball owned the second and fourth quarters against Santa Clara last Saturday, defeating the Broncos 89-79.
 
Santa Clara had a four-point lead after the first quarter, but SMC erupted for a 24-12 win of the second. Saint Mary's trailed by six early in that second frame, but back-to-back threes by Taycee Wedin tied the game at 25-25 just three minutes into it.
 
The third quarter would get very choppy, with a combined 18 fouls between the two teams, as the refs definitely called the game tighter that quarter. All of that action at the charity stripe allowed the Broncos to take the lead at 60-59 with 1:28 to go in the third, as they went 11 of 13 from the line compared to the Gaels' 4 of 10.
 
But SMC kept their cool, and took the lead right back on a Taycee Wedin jumper near the free-throw line.The teams would trade baskets early in the fourth, and Santa Clara would even take a one-point lead again at 66-65 with 8:38 remaining. But another Wedin three would put the Gaels right back on top, and a Dalton three pointer after a Bamberger rebound would put Saint Mary's back up by seven with six minutes to go.
 
Taycee Wedin led all scorers with 23 points on 6 of 12 shooting and 4 of 7 on threes, giving her 389 three pointers in her career. Ali Bamberger would finish with 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead SMC.
 
The Melbourne connection of Hannah Rapp and Leia Hanafin each finished with nine points and seven rebounds, and Hanafin led the team with five assists. SMC won the rebounding battle 42-32 and shot exactly 50% from the floor while holding Santa Clara to 39.7% shooting.
 
ABOUT PORTLAND
The Pilots only two conference losses this season are to first-place Gonzaga. Portland leads the WCC in steals per game (9.3), field-goal percentage (46.8%) and assists per game (17.0). Nationally, they're 18th in assists per game and 13th in field-goal percentage.

Alex Fowler leads the WCC in field-goal percentage (60.2%), free throw attempts (136), free throws made (109), points per game (18.2), steals per game (1.88) and total steals (47). She is also second in total points (455), fourth in field goals made (165), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46) and seventh in assists per game (3.3) and free-throw percentage (80.2). Nationally, she ranks 14th in field-goal percentage.

Fowler is one of six players in NCAA Division I averaging at least 18 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals a game this year. She has posted the highest field-goal percentage of any of those players. She was also named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats.

The Pilots went 20-11 last season, finishing fourth in the WCC and qualifying for the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2009. It is the first time that Portland has earned a .500 record or better three seasons in a row since 2009-11. It was also their fifth season as a Division I program winning at least 20 games and their second time in three seasons under head coach Michael Meek.
 
ABOUT GONZAGA
The Zags have three players currently averaging double digits in so far this season, including Yvonne Ejim (16.7), Kaylynne Truong (16.4), and Brynna Maxwell (14.2). Ejim currently is fourth and Truong is fifth in the WCC in scoring. Maxwell also is 10th in the conference.

The Bulldogs are currently shooting at a program record 79.2 percent from the free throw line, which also ranks sixth in the country. Brynna Maxwell leads the team individually with 95.2 percent, which leads the conference. She currently has only missed four free throws so far this year and has made 62. 

Brynna Maxwell has made a three-pointer in every game so far this season. Maxwell is shooting 50.7 percent from the three-point line to lead the nation. 

As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting a school record breaking 41.4 percent from beyond the arc, which is currently ranked first in the country. Gonzaga is undefeated at home so far this year and has won the last 18-straight home games. 

Ejim leads the Zags in scoring with 16.9 points a game and has recorded four double doubles already this year. She has currently scored in double figures for 14-straight games and 22 times this season.

Kaylynne Truong is currently dishing out 5.3 assists a game to rank first in the conference and 19th in the country. Overall, she has recorded 139 assists which is good for 16th in the nation. She has also scored in double figures in 16-straight games, and 23 games total this year. Against Portland, she scored her 1,000th career point in a Gonzaga uniform. 
 
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.