MORAGA, Calif. - Four games, two weeks, the 2025 WCC regular season is coming down to the wire as Saint Mary's will embark on their final two-game road trip of the season to take on two of the top teams in the WCC. They will face off against top seed Gonzaga Thursday night and then Washington State at 11:00 AM on Saturday. The Gaels are 0-2 against both teams this season, losing by an average of ten points in both games combined. 

After a road win over Pepperdine last weekend, Saint Mary's currently sits in a three-way tie for fourth place along with Oregon State and San Francisco. All three teams are fighting for that fourth seed which would guarantee a trip to the quarterfinals. The Gaels are just two games out of third place but it appears to be a two-horse race for the league title between Gonzaga and Portland with four games to play.  

GAME COVERAGE

WBB | Saint Mary's at Gonzaga | Spokane, Wash.
The Kennel | Thursday, February 20th | 6:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

WBB | Saint Mary's at Washington State | Pullman, Wash.
Beasley Coliseum | Saturday, February 22nd | 11:00 AM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Five in Double Figures vs. Portland…

Saint Mary's had five players finish in double figures in their two-point defeat to Portland for the first time this season. Three of the five starters finished in double figures including Kennedy Johnson who recorded 12 points and seven boards. 

Off the bench, Abigail Shoff went for ten points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and sophomore guard Emily Foy popped off for 17 points and hit three three pointers. As a team, the Gaels finished 54% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 81% from the free throw line for one of their most balanced offensive performances of the season. 

Who Says you can't Sweep a Wave…

The Gaels put together another solid team performance last Saturday with a 68-54 road victory over Pepperdine to complete the regular season sweep. Saint Mary's finished with four players in double figures and sophomore point guard Zeryhia Aokuso would lead the charge with 16 points and seven rebounds coming off the bench for Saint Mary's. Aokuso has been a little turnover happy as of late but took a step back on Saturday to lead the team in scoring and record zero turnovers for the third time this season. 

Saint Mary's has now won six straight games over Pepperdine dating back to 2023 with three straight regular season sweeps.    

Struggles in the Pacific Northwest…

Saint Mary's will embark on their final two-game road trip of the regular season, heading to the Pacific Northwest to take on Gonzaga and Washington State. The Gaels are 0-2 against both teams this season falling by an average of ten points. Gonzaga leads the conference with a 14-2 record while the Cougars are still in the hunt with an 11-6 conference record in third place. 

Saint Mary's has not one in The Kennel since 2018 and are looking to end a nine game losing streak to the Zags dating back to 2020. Despite the Gaels having a decent series history with the Cougars, going 5-2 over their last seven meetings, WSU won by nine points in Moraga earlier this season and will look for the regular season sweep this Saturday in Pullman. 

Around the League…

Gonzaga sits at the top of the conference standings with a 14-2 record, just a game ahead of Portland who's at 13-3. Both teams have combined for a current 21 game win streak as they continue to duke it out for the regular season title. 

Washington State sits in third at 11-6 and then the logjam begins as spots 4-8 are all separated by just two games. Saint Mary's, Oregon State and San Francisco are all tied for fourth place at 9-7 while Santa Clara and Pacific remain in the hunt at 8-9 in a tie for seventh place. 

Key matchups this week include both bay area teams, Saint Mary's and San Francisco, traveling to the Pacific Northwest to face off against Gonzaga and Washington State. The Gaels will take on the Zags Thursday night and then flop with the Dons who will face Gonzaga on Saturday. Pacific faces a must-win scenario with a road matchup against LMU and Oregon State will host Santa Clara and San Diego.  

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS (WCC)

Gonzaga continues to set the pace in the WCC, sitting in first place and riding a 13-game win streak. Despite their red hot start to the second half of the regular season, they only hold a one game lead over the Portland Pilots who are 13-3 and currently on an eight-game win streak. Gonzaga boasts one of the best scoring offenses in the conference averaging just under 70 points per game and leads the WCC shooting 36% from three-point range. 

They also have the luxury of arguably the best two-way player in the league in Yvonne Ejim who leads the WCC averaging 21.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The Zags are fresh off of a hard fought four-point road win over Oregon State and then a 12-point home win over LMU. The Bulldogs have been fairly average offensively over the last three weeks of the season but they have started to catch fire from beyond the arc, shooting over 35% from three in four of their last five games. 

They've connected on at least five three pointers in five straight games. When the Zags shoot over 33% from three, they are 15-2 on the season proving to be a difficult team to beat. On the flip side, when Gonzaga's offense shoots under 42% from the field they are 5-5 on the season. Defending the three and winning the glass is a quality strategy to take down the top seed Zags. Gonzaga will remain in Spokane but have a pair of tough games against Saint Mary's and San Francisco in an effort to stay on top in the WCC. 

In their first meeting, Gonzaga took down Saint Mary's in Moraga 69-58 but the Gaels made a late push to erase a 17-point lead, cutting the deficit to just two points in the third quarter. The Zags shot 44% from the field and were a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line to help ice the game. On top of that, Ejim recorded her tenth double-double of the season finishing 11-for-19 from the field and grabbing a game high eleven boards. 

ABOUT THE COUGARS (WCC)

The Washington State Cougars have found a nice rhythm since the Nea Year, going 9-6 since the start of January and have won four of their last six games. They sit in third place in the WCC with an 11-6 conference record. Their final three games of the regular season feature two teams in the top half of the standings in Saint Mary's and San Francisco who are both in a tie for fourth place at 9-7. 

The Cougars possess one of the best offensive teams in the league, averaging 68 points on 43% shooting this season. They lead the conference with 620 attempted three's but only shoot the deep ball at a 32% clip. They rank second in the WCC turning the ball over only 13 times a game but defensively they have shown to be susceptible, allowing their opponents to shoot 33% from beyond the arc. 

The bulk of their scoring comes from Eleonora Villa and Tara Wallack who both combine to average over 13 points per game. They also  have three other players averaging at least seven points or more per game for one of the more balanced offenses in the WCC. When Washington State shoots over their season average from three they are 7-5 compared to 9-7 when they shoot under their season average. One of the more telling statistics for the Cougars this season has been on the glass. Washington State is 11-2 when they surpass their season average of 36 rebounds per game, a stat the Gaels rank dead last in averaging just 31 boards per game. 

In their first meeting, the Gaels held a five-point lead at the half but a 20-9 run in the third quarter swung the game in favor of the Cougars as they shot 57% and made four three pointers in the third to claim a six-point lead. A poor offensive second half and just four made shots in the fourth would lead to the 66-57 defeat for Saint Mary's. 

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