MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's will head to the Pacific Northwest for their toughest road test of the conference season as they take on Portland and Oregon State. The Pilots sit in a tie for second place with the Gaels at 7-3 while the Beavers are right in the thick of things at 5-6. 

Saint Mary's will look to rid some of their bad fortune against Portland as they've lost nine of their last ten matchups dating back to 2020. Their last win over the Pilots came in an overtime thriller at the Chiles Center last season, 73-67. They'll finish the weekend in Corvallis against Oregon State, their eighth meeting all-time and first in WCC history. 

GAME COVERAGE

WBB | Saint Mary's at Portland | Portland, Ore.
The Chiles Center | Thursday, January 30th | 6:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

WBB | Saint Mary's at Oregon State | Corvallis, Ore.
Gill Coliseum | Saturday, February 1st | 2:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Maia Jones with Back-to-Back 23-Point Games…

Maia Jones continues to show why she is one of the league's best individual scorers on any given night after putting up back-to-back 23-point performances last week against San Diego and Santa Clara. Jones caught fire in the fourth quarter and scored eleven of her 23 points in the final ten minutes to seal the nine-point win over the Toreros. 

She would score another 23 points in the team's narrow OT loss to Santa Clara on Saturday. Jones ranks inside the top-20 in scoring averaging 11.9 points and now has four 20-point games on the season.

Kennedy Johnson Records First Double-Double since 2023…

Kennedy Johnson continues to be a dominant force in her first season in the WCC as she recorded her first double-double of the season and second of her college career. Johnson recorded 14 points and tied her career high with 12 rebounds in the team's OT defeat to Santa Clara. 

Johnson continues to lead the Gaels in scoring averaging over 13 points per game and also ranks inside the top-20 in the conference in rebounding with over five boards per game. Johnson became the first Gael to record a double-double since Ali Bamberger recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds vs. Pacific on February 25th, 2023.  

Sleepless in Portland…

Saint Mary's will look to shed some bad fortune as of late against the Pilots as they've lost nine of their last ten games against Portland dating back to 2020. The Gaels did pull off a road overtime win over the Pilots last season, 73-67, but had lost eight straight games prior to that. Over the ten game stretch, the Gaels are just 1-4 in The Chiles Center.  

This year's matchup will be highly anticipated across the conference as both teams sit in a tie for second place at 7-3. Saint Mary's is off to their best conference start since 2015 and Portland started the year 14-0 and stood as one of the last undefeated teams in all of college basketball into late December.   

Path to Success…

In Portland's three losses on the season, they've developed some common trends on the glass and beyond the arc. The Pilots lost the rebounding battle in each of the three games and also shot a combined 25% from three. If Saint Mary's can defend the perimeter and win the glass, they should be able to give themselves a chance to walk away with the road victory. 

Portland ranks second in the WCC in three-point attempts averaging 21 a game and are a bottom half team in rebounding averaging just 34 boards a game. Saint Mary's has recorded at least 36 rebounds in three of their last four games and are a combined 2-1 during that stretch.  

ABOUT THE PILOTS (WCC)

The Portland Pilots have put together a historic 2024-25 campaign so far after starting the season 14-0, their best start in program history. They were one of just two teams to hold a 14-0 record at the time before dropping their first game of the season to Pacific Northwest rival Oregon State. 

The Pilots enter Thursday's game with an 18-3 overall record and a 7-3 record in conference play, sitting in a tie for second place along with Saint Mary's. Portland's three losses in conference play have come to a pair of the top teams in the league, two to Gonzaga and an overtime loss to Oregon State. The Pilots do it all as they rank at the top of the WCC in both offense and defense, averaging nearly 80 points and allowing just 61 per game. 

They have two of the top scorers in the league in Emme Shearer and Maisie Burnham who are both averaging 16 points per game. In their three losses, Portland lost the rebounding battle and shot under 32% from three, giving Saint Mary's a clear recipe for success if they can defend the three-point line and rebound the basketball. 

The Pilots are led by head coach Michael Meek in his sixth year with the program. Since taking over he has led Portland to several postseason appearances including the 2020 WCC Tournament Championship, their first since 1994. The Pilots were picked to finish third in the WCC in this year's preseason poll and are certainly poised to make another run at the conference tournament crown.   

ABOUT THE BEAVERS (WCC)

In their inaugural season in the West Coast Conference, Oregon State has a 9-13 overall record and are 5-6 in conference play. The Beavers enter this week on a four-game losing skid with defeats to Portland, San Francisco, Pacific and Washington State. OSU plays at a relatively slow pace as they rank 10th in the conference averaging just 61 points per game but they do average over 50 shot attempts a game. 

The Beavers have four players that average at least eight points per game and are led by senior forward Kelsey Rees who's averaging nearly 13 points per game. AJ Marotte was named to the preseason all-conference team as one of the team's five returners from their 2024 Elite Eight squad. Marotte is currently averaging eleven points and four rebounds through 22 games. 

The Beavers are led by head coach Scott Rueck in his 15th year with the program. Rueck was most recently named the 2024 ESPN National Coach of the Year Runner-Up for the team's 27-win season and Elite Eight appearance last year. Oregon State was picked to finish fourth in the WCC preseason poll and currently sit in 7th place at 5-5. The Beavers take on Pepperdine on Thursday before hosting the Gaels Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.     

Tip-off with Portland is scheduled for 6:00 PM Thursday evening and then Saint Mary's will take on Oregon State at 2:00 PM. Stream both games on ESPN+ and get your tickets online at smcgaels.com. 

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