MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's returns to Moraga for a pair of home games as they host Washington State and Pacific, looking to improve to 6-1 in conference play for the first time since 2015. Despite falling to San Francisco last week for their first conference defeat of the season, they sit at 4-1 in second place behind the Dons who improved to 4-0 with their win. 

The Gaels will take on Washington State for the first time in WCC history and then battle Pacific in their final matchup of the regular season after their buzzer beater victory just two weeks earlier. 

GAME COVERAGE

WBB | Saint Mary's vs. Washington State | Moraga, Calif.
UCU Pavilion | Thursday, January 9th | 6:30 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

WBB | Saint Mary's vs. Pacific | Moraga, Calif.
UCU Pavilion | Saturday, January 11th | 5:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Perfect Start to WCC Play Comes to an End…

The Gaels perfect start to conference play came to an end last Thursday in a 13-point road defeat to San Francisco. Saint Mary's nearly overcame an 18-point deficit from the third quarter with a 9-0 run to end the third and start the fourth but the Dons put together one of their best shooting nights of the season, finishing 53% from the field and outscoring the Gaels 38-24 in the paint. 

The Dons size and length gave Saint Mary's problems in the interior and on the glass. SMC would hang around with quality three-point shooting and also get to the line to finish 18-21 for the game. USF had five players in double figures and freshman Angeliki Ziaka had a career night with 22 points and six made three pointers. Saint Mary's will return to UCU Pavilion though with a chance to get to 6-1 in conference play and their best start since 2015 where they also went 6-1 after a 4-0 start.  

Offense Continues to Surge, Shoff with Career High…

Saint Mary's offense continues to improve as they've hit the 70-point mark in their last three games and finished Thursday night 64% from three for their second highest mark of the season. Three different Gaels finished the night in double figures with junior transfer Abigail Shoff putting together a career night, finishing with 19 points on a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. 

Zeryhia Aokuso scored nine of her sixteen points in the second half for her third straight game in double figures while Maia Jones finished with 12 points on 3-6 shooting off the bench. Rebounding continues to be a point of emphasis for the Gaels as they matched their season low on Thursday with 25 boards, -12 for the game. They were able to turn San Francisco over 19 times though for their third straight game with 19+ turnovers. 

Series History…

Saint Mary's will take on Washington State for the first time since 2018 as they join the WCC this season along with Oregon State as affiliate members. The Gaels are 5-1 against the Cougars dating back to 2009 but they have won five of their last six games and sit right behind the Gaels in the conference standings with an identical 4-1 record.     

On Saturday, the Gaels will play their second and final game of the regular season against the Pacific Tigers. In their previous meeting just two weeks earlier, Saint Mary's pulled off a 16-point comeback and Zeryhia Aokuso hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to give them the thrilling 80-78 overtime victory. They will look for the series sweep over the Tigers for the first time since 2022 as they had lost four straight to Pacific prior to their overtime win last month.   

ABOUT THE COUGARS (WCC)

In their inaugural season as a part of the WCC, Washington State sits right behind the Gaels with a 4-1 conference record and have won five of their last six games coming into Thursday night. The Cougars won three straight to start conference play before falling to Santa Clara the day after New Years, 62-68. They would bounce back on Saturday with a convincing win over their Pacific Northwest rival Oregon State, taking down the Beavers by 14 points to improve to 4-1 in WCC action. 

The Cougars are led by a pair of returners in Eleonora Villa and Tara Wallack who are the team's lone double-figure scorers, both averaging over 13 points per game. Villa and Wallack were both named to the preseason all-conference team after leading Washington State to the WBIT semifinals last season. WSU finished their non-conference schedule at .500 with a 6-6 record including key wins over Eastern Washington, Idaho and Virginia in the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout.  

Like the Gaels, the Cougars rank in the middle of the pack in the conference on both sides of the ball, averaging 66.4 points per game and allowing 66.0 per game. From beyond the arc they do lead the conference in three point attempts (379) but are only shooting it at a 31% clip for 6th in the conference. The Gaels zone defense could pose problems for the Cougars if they fail to shoot the three ball consistently as they've shot under 36% from three in each of their last three games.  

The Cougars are led by Kamie Ethridge in her seventh season and she has led Washington State to back-to-back 20-win seasons and four straight postseason appearances including the WBIT and the NCAA tournament. In their brief history, the Cougars are just 2-5 against the Gaels dating back to 2005 with their last win coming in 2016.       

ABOUT THE TIGERS (WCC)

Since losing to Saint Mary's in overtime just two weeks earlier, the Pacific Tigers have gone 1-1 with a loss to Washington State before grabbing their second conference win over San Diego last week. The Gaels contributed to a five-game losing streak for the Tigers after winning five of their six games in their non-conference schedule. Pacific's defense continues to struggle as they're allowing nearly 70 points per game for second most in the WCC.

Liz Smith and Elizabeth Elliot continue to put up stellar offensive numbers for the Tigers as they are both averaging over 14 points per game and finished in double figures in the team's six-point win over San Diego. Pacific does not shoot the ball particularly well from three as they rank second to last in made three pointers (61). Pacific remains in the mix though with a 2-3 conference record with wins over Oregon State and San Diego.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM on Thursday, January 9th against the Cougars and then 5:00 PM on Saturday against the Tigers. Both games can be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at smcgales.com/tickets. 

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