MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's Women's Basketball will finish off WCC regular season play with their final home and road matchup of the season this weekend. The Gaels will host USF at home on Thursday as they celebrate Senior Day. Then, they will wrap up the regular season with a Saturday afternoon matchup against Pepperdine.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (12-16, 5-9) vs USF (12-15, 8-6)
Thursday, February 29 at 6:30 p.m.
UCU Pavilion, Moraga, CA
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Saint Mary's (12-16, 5-9) at Pepperdine (5-23, 1-14)
Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, CA
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LAST TIMEOUT
Last Saturday, Saint Mary's fell short to the University of San Diego 69-52, despite goals of sweeping the Toreros this season. In the opening possession, Zeriyah Aokuso knocked down a jumper off a pass from Tayla Dalton. It was no surprise when Aokuso secured her sixth WCC Freshman of the Week award after dominating against LMU and San Diego last week. She has scored in double digits 14 times this season, and
In the matchup against San Diego, the Gaels were held to 33.3% from FG and 11.1% from three. The Toreros went on multiple runs throughout the game, and Saint Mary's could not bounce back and ultimately fell short.
Despite the loss, Aokuso and Dalton led the team the best they could. Zeriyah Aokuso, the freshman point guard, finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds. Senior Captain, Tayla Dalton, played all 40 minutes and put up 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals. No doubt, these two will help turn things around to lead the Gaels towards victory on Thursday evening.
ABOUT USF
The University of San Francisco's Women's Basketball team won their last game against the University of Portland on Sunday. Their 59-47 victory over the Pilots puts them fourth in the WCC standings, only trailing Gonzaga, Santa Clara, and Portland.
Jasmine Gayles leads the Dons in scoring this season, and she is averaging 17.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She scored 15 points in their last game on 6-12 shooting. Last season, she earned WCC Sixth Woman of the Year, after averaging 10.1 points per game off the bench. She leads the WCC in minutes played, as she averages 36 minutes per night. Gayles is currently third in the WCC in scoring, with her teammate Debora dos Santos close behind her in sixth place.
Debora dos Santos is the Don's other leading force. She is averaging 14.2 points per game and leads her team in rebounds, blocks, and steals. The Gaels must watch out for her on the glass, as she leads the WCC in rebounds, averaging 11.1 per game.
The Gaels and Dons faced off earlier this month, and USF finished with a 59-54 advantage over the Gaels.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine is currently sitting in last place in the WCC. They are currently on a 14 game losing streak. The Waves are ranked last in the West Coast Conference in both offense and defense ratings. In their last game, they took on No. 16 Gonzaga, and lost 75 to 41.
Jane Nwaba leads Pepperdine in scoring this season, with an average of 10.4 points per game. She is also averaging 7.9 rebounds per game, the fourth most in the WCC.
The Gaels played the Waves less than two weeks ago at home, and simply dominated. Their 75-47 victory over Pepperdine was their largest win of the season so far.
ABOUT SENIOR DAY
In their final home game of the regular season, Saint Mary's will celebrate their seniors, Ali Bamberger, Tayla Dalton, Jasmine Farmer, Ellie Croco, Leia Hanafin, Hannah Rapp, and Makena Mastora. The last time the Gaels played at home, they won big, and are looking to repeat some of that energy one last time in Moraga.
#GaelsRise – 2023-24 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.
