MORAGA, Calif. - WCC action is officially upon us as the Saint Mary's women's basketball team will head to the South Bay to take on Santa Clara to open up the conference season. They will conclude the weekend with their home opener on Saturday against LMU at 2:00 PM. The Gaels enter conference play with a 4-5 overall record and will seek their sixth win over the Broncos out of their last seven matchups dating back to 2022.  

GAME COVERAGE

Thursday, December 19th | 6:00 PM | Santa Clara, Calif
Saint Mary's at Santa Clara | Leavey Center
Live Stats | Tickets | ESPN+

Saturday, December 21st | 2:00 PM | Moraga, Calif.
Saint Mary's vs. LMU | UCU Pavilion
Live Stats | Tickets | ESPN+

GAELS OUTLOOK

After a solid start to the team's non-conference campaign winning four of five games in the month of November, the Gaels have cooled off and lost three straight to conclude non-conference action. Saint Mary's continues to be a force on the defensive end though, ranking fifth in the WCC allowing 63 points per game and forcing 151 turnovers on the season. In recent weeks though, the offensive has struggled to get going with slow starts in the first half. 

During the team's three-game losing streak, they have averaged just eight points in the first quarter compared to nearly 17 points in the fourth quarter. Offensive sparks for the Gaels include senior transfer Kennedy Johnson who continues to show her value leading the team with over 12 points and 5 rebounds per game. Second year players Maia Jones and Emily Foy have been a great 1-2 punch as they lead the team in three-point shooting, averaging a combined 40% from the perimeter.  

One of the key statistics in the team's three-game skid comes from the rebounding category as the Gaels were out-rebounded 123-83 and are dead last in the WCC in rebounds per game with 32.2. Other bright spots include true freshman Edie Clarke who put up career numbers against San Jose State with nine points on a perfect 4-4 from the field. Clarke's length and athleticism makes her a great two-way big for the Gaels as she has started the last two games.  

Reigning WCC Freshman of the Year Zeryhia Aokuso has also returned to the lineup after sitting out the start of the season due to injury. With good health and effective defense, the Gaels will be in a good position to start off conference play with a road win over Santa Clara Thursday night. Saint Mary's has won six of their last seven meetings over the Broncos dating back to 2022 and they will look for their first home win over LMU since defeating the Lions by 19 points in 2022.  

ABOUT THE BRONCOS (WCC)

After placing second in WCC play and falling in the semifinals as the second seed in the conference tournament last season, Santa Clara is off to another good start this season entering Thursday's matchup with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-1 record inside the Leavey Center. 

The Broncos return four players from last year's squad including All-WCC Preseason Team selection senior forward Olivia Pollerd. Pollerd averaged 14.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.6 apg for the Broncos last season, earning First Team All-WCC honors. The Broncos also return sophomore guard Maddie Naro, who was picked to the 2023-24 All-WCC Freshman Team, junior forward Georgia Grigoropoulou, and senior guard Malia Latu. Eight newcomers also joined the squad this season highlighted by graduate guard Kaya Ingram, who started all 26 games for Cornell last season, leading the team with 30.5 mpg, 10.5 ppg, and 3.1 apg. 

Key wins this season for the Broncos include UC Riverside, Fresno State and most recently North Texas to give them a three-game win streak entering conference play. Santa Clara is middle of the pack in points per game but are amongst one of the best teams in the WCC defensively allowing just 60 points per game on 35% shooting. The bulk of their offense comes from Olivia Pollerd who ranks third in the WCC with over 17 points per game while four other Broncos average at least seven points on the season. 

Santa Clara had a late head coaching change back in October as Bill Carr stepped down after eight seasons with the program. He was replaced by long term Associate Head Coach Michael Floyd who was named the team's interim head coach before the start of the season. Despite the coaching change, the Broncos are one of three teams with at least  six wins to start the season and will look for their second straight postseason appearance after qualifying for the WBIT in 2024.    

ABOUT THE LIONS (WCC)

The LMU Lions are off to their best start since 2018 when they went 8-2 through their first ten games, entering the first week of WCC action with a 6-2 overall record. LMU had won six straight before falling to Wichita State last week to conclude their non-conference schedule. Key wins included South Dakota, Cal State Fullerton and an 11-point victory over San Jose State. 

The Lions welcomed ten new players to this year's roster featuring four freshmen and six transfers. Maya Hernandez leads the team with 15 points per game, good for fifth highest in the WCC. Naudia Evans and Brandi Williams are the team's other double-digit scorers, averaging a combined 12 points per game. The Lions have one of the more explosive offenses in the conference, averaging 73.8 points for the second highest average in the conference. On the flip side, they only allow 62 points per game for the third best defensive average, making them one of the more complete teams in the league to start the season. 

Head coach Aarika Huges enters her fourth season leading the program and is off to the best start of her tenure. LMU is also one of the best teams in taking care of the ball, turning it over only eleven times per game and has a conference low 89 turnovers on the season. They will face a tough test in a Gaels defense that forces 17 turnovers per game and holds their opponents to just 38% shooting.      

LMU has not finished above the bottom three in the conference since 2019 after going 10-8 in WCC play that season. They have won six of the last eight meetings with the Gaels dating back to 2022 and got the last laugh in 2024 after defeating Saint Mary's in the first round of the conference tournament.   

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and you can purchase tickets for the Gaels conference home opener on Saturday at smcgaels.com/tickets. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information. 

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