MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Basketball could not be stopped on Saturday night, and secured a 75-47 victory over Pepperdine in a Saturday evening match up at home. The 28-point advantage earned the Gaels their largest win of the season so far. 

Saint Mary's celebrated Girl's and Women's in Sports Night this evening by acknowledging female student athletes across various sports and their achievements on and off the court. Tonight, SMC took on the Pepperdine Waves, who are currently last in the WCC and have not won in the UCU Pavillion since the 2018-2019 season. 

In the first possession, Zeriyah Aokuso drove straight to the basket and finished the layup on the left side. The freshman point guard has been the leading scorer for the Gaels this season and is averaging 11.3 points per game. After two threes by Maia Jones and a successful three point play by Ali Bamberger, SMC was up 10-0 with 6:50 remaining in the opening period. It was a combined defensive and offensive effort this quarter, as the Gaels shot 57.1% from FG while holding Pepperdine to just 13.3%. Saint Mary's finished the first quarter with a 20-5 advantage. 

To open up the second quarter scoring, Maia Jones found Ali Bamberger under the basket. A layup by Maia Jones on the right side put the Gaels up 29-9 with 5:40 remaining in the first half. A steal and layup by Makena Mastora followed by Maia Jones knocking down another three pointer pushed Saint Mary's lead to 25 with 3:20 left. Pepperdine had no answer for SMC, and Saint Mary's took a 40-13 lead into halftime. 

The Gaels led the entire first half and shot 55.2% from FG and held the Waves to 17.6%. At the end of the first half, Maia Jones was the leading scorer with 22 points after shooting 5-8 from the three point line.

To begin the second half, Zeriyah Auokso stole the ball and finished the layup on the other end. Ali Bamberger dominated at the block, and completed a three point play to put the Gaels up 47-15 with 7:44 left in the third quarter. Maia Jones was the offensive spark tonight, as she swished her sixth three pointer with four minutes remaining. Saint Mary's would not slow down, and took a 61-30 lead into the final quarter. 

Ruby Vlahov picked up her first points of the night after a made three pointer assisted by Makena Mastora. Nadia Bernard also earned her first points of the night, with an impressive bucket from the paint. Pepperdine outscored SMC 17-14 in the fourth quarter, but it was certainly not enough to beat the Gaels. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Maia Jones led all players in scoring, and she finished the night with 31 points, her new career best. Jones went 6-9 from the three point line tonight and shot 52.6% from FG to lead the way for the Gaels. Ali Bamberger contributed with 14 points on 75% FG. SMC held Pepperdine to 29.8% from FG and 16.7% from three. 

UP NEXT: The Gaels will be on the road for their next match up against LMU on Thursday, February 22 at 7:00pm.