MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's Women's Basketball team will be hosting No. 16 Gonzaga Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and Pepperdine Saturday at 5:00 p.m..
SMC has a 28-50 all time record against the Bulldogs, with Gonzaga winning seven-straight match ups. When Saint Mary's played Gonzaga earlier this season, the Bulldogs won each quarter and kept at least a 15-point lead throughout the game.
With a 45-35 overall record against Pepperdine, Saint Mary's took down Pepperdine last season defeating them twice. In their previous match, the Gaels came out and dominated in the second quarter, keeping The Waves to only five points. The Gaels will look to push their win streak to three against Pepperdine.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (10-14, 3-7) vs Gonzaga (24-2, 11-0)
Saturday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Saint Mary's (10-14, 3-7) vs Pepperdine (5-19, 1-10)
Saturday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
LAST TIMEOUT
Saint Mary's Women's Basketball battled hard against Santa Clara this past Saturday, losing 70-58 and ending the Gaels five game win streak.
The Gaels were trailing ealy in the game, but Ali Bamberer kept the Broncos from no more than a seven point lead in the first quarter. SCU went up by 13 in the second quarter, but a three pointer made by Makena Mastora and a jumper by Hannah Rapp kept the Bronco lead to nine ending the half.
Santa Clara came out of the half strong with a 7-0 run and just three minutes into the third quarter, the Broncos had a score of 38-22 over the Gaels. SCU took a 19 point lead with two minutes left in the third.
Saint Mary's started the fourth quarter hot with a 9-0 run and was capped by a Leia Hanafin three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight with 6:23 left in the game. The Broncos went back up by 14 with 3:37 remaining, but Hanafin did it again with just two minutes left on the clock, hitting a three to make it a 62-54 game. The Broncos never let SMC get any closer than eight points to close out the game within those last two minutes.
ABOUT GONZAGA
The Bulldogs are coming off of a very strong 2022-2023 season with a 28-5 overall record and a 17-1 conference record, only losing to Santa Clara by five. The Zags continue to dominate this season, only losing twice, once to No. 24 Washington State 77-72 in overtime and No. 20 Louisville 81-70. Although Gonzaga fell short to those teams, they defeated No. 3 Stanford 96-78.
The Bulldog to watch out for is Senior forward Yvonnw Ejim. Ejim is the team leader in various categories with 487 points, 75 offensive rebounds and 124 defensive rebounds, giving her 199 total. She averages 20.3 points per game and is third in assists (51). The senior has won Conference Player of the week four times this season, has been named one of 10 semifinalist for the 2024 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, has been named to the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Midseason Team (one of 30 player in the nation named to the list), and also has been named to Canada's Senior Women's National Team to help qualify Team Canada for the Olympics this summer.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
The Waves are in a stump this season with a 10 game lose streak, only defeating conference opener San Diego 53-52 for conference. Senior Jane Nwaba is Pepperdine's leading scorer with 237 points this season. She also leads her team with 183 rebounds, 72 assists, 31 steals, and is second in blocks with 17.
