MORAGA, Calif. - After resting up during the holiday break the Saint Mary's women's basketball team will head to Stockton to take on the Pacific Tigers and continue their best start in conference play since 2014. Head coach Jeff Cammon and his squad will look to end a four-game losing streak to the Tigers dating back to 2023 and record their first win inside the Alex G. Spanos Center since 2022. 

GAME COVERAGE 

Saint Mary's at Pacific
Saturday, December 28th | 2:00 PM | Alex G. Spanos Center
Live Stats | Tickets | ESPN+ 

GAELS OUTLOOK

Saint Mary's kicked off their conference opener on the road last week with a come-from-behind win over Santa Clara and then returned to UCU Pavilion to take down LMU at home for the first time since 2022. In the words of head coach Jeff Cammon, "we are comfortable playing in the 50's and we're gonna make you work for every point the entire night". The Gaels have begun to establish a clear identity and recipe for success, attack the paint, rebound and relentlessly defend all 40 minutes. As a result, they have started conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2014 and are top-three in the WCC in field goal percentage (43%) and opponent points per game only allowing 62 points on the season. 

Defense, Defense, Defense…

When Cammon and his squad hold teams under 40% shooting they are 6-3 on the season and they have held their opponents to under 60 points five different times this season. After struggling to rebound effectively during their three-game skid heading into WCC action, they went on to out-rebound Santa Clara and LMU by a combined 12 boards and held both teams to a combined 36% shooting. The Gaels have been able to present several different defensive looks throughout the course of a game that continue to give teams problems and disrupt their offense. 

Early Season MVP…

Offensively, Saint Mary's has some great interior scorers including senior transfer Kennedy Johnson. Johnson was the team's MVP after the first week of conference play, combining for 40 points on the weekend on 54% shooting. She connected on the game tying three to force overtime against Santa Clara and finished with a season high 25 points, one point shy of her career high. Then she exploded late in the team's win over LMU, scoring 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. 

Finding her Footing…

Zeryhia Aokuso has started the last four games for the Gaels after battling through an injury to start the season and played a huge role in their 2-0 start last week. Aokuso has had only one double-digit scoring game this season but found another way to positively impact the game with her passing and facilitating abilities. She finished last weekend with a team high 20 assists over her two games and recorded a career high 12 in the team's five-point victory over the Lions. 

Aokuso does a great job operating in the post and passing out of double teams to get easy layups or open looks from the perimeter. Her 12 assists were the most in a game since Madeline Holland recorded 13 in a blowout win over Cal Poly back in 2019. As she starts to improve from the field, the Gaels will only get more dangerous offensively and become a more difficult team to prepare for. 

The Gaels are 15-16 all-time against Pacific and both teams have traded off four-game win streaks over their last eight meetings. The Tigers own the latest four-game win streak dating back to 2023 as Saint Mary's will look for their first road win over the Tigers since 2022.      

ABOUT THE TIGERS (WCC)

Pacific enter's Saturday's matchup with a 5-7 overall record and a 1-1 record in WCC play. The Tigers took down Oregon State in overtime to get their first conference win but fell to undefeated Portland 71-84 last Saturday. The Tigers are currently riding a three-game losing streak with non-conference defeats to Cal, UC Santa Barbara and then Portland. 

The Tigers have had a difficult non-conference with marquee games against Washington, Long Beach and Houston, going 2-1 in those three games. Despite being picked fifth in the WCC preseason poll, Pacific currently ranks in the bottom half of the conference in scoring (63.5) and opponent points per game (67.3). 

The bulk of the team's scoring comes from three double-digit scorers in Elizabeth Elliot, Liz Smith and Anaya James. Elliot leads the team and ranks inside the top-ten in the WCC with over 14 points and six rebounds per game. The trio have played their entire careers at Pacific and have combined for over 3,000 points. 

The Tigers are coming off a year where they advanced to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament for the first time since 2012 after defeating Cal Poly in the opening round 63-43 at home. Pacific posted its best winning percentage at home since 2012-13 with a 12-5 (.706) mark. They went 2-1 in the WCC Tournament before falling to top seed Gonzaga in the semifinals. 

Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM and you can stream the game live on ESPN+. 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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