MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's women's basketball will finish out the 2025 regular season with Senior Night on Thursday against Oregon State and then a quick trip to SoCal to take on LMU Saturday afternoon. After their 0-2 weekend in Washington, the Gaels are now in a tie for sixth place but could still finish as high as fourth with a pair of wins and some help. 

Head coach Jeff Cammon and his squad will seek a revenge game Thursday night against Oregon State as the program looks for their first home win over the Beavers since 1989. A win would put them within a game of the Beavers heading into the final day of conference action on Saturday. Then the team will look for their first regular season sweep over LMU since 2021 as the two teams have been quite familiar with one another, meeting in the first round of the last three WCC Championship Tournaments. 

GAME COVERAGE

WBB | Saint Mary's vs. Oregon State | Moraga, Calif.
UCU Pavilion | Thursday, February 27th | 6:30 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

WBB | Saint Mary's at LMU | Los Angeles, Calif.
Gersten Pavilion| Saturday, February 29th | 4:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Defensive Magic Number…

Since Jeff Cammon came to Moraga the Gaels have made huge strides on the defensive side of the ball, ranking in the top half of the conference in opponent points per game (64.1), opponent three-point percentage (31%), opponent turnovers (17.2) and steals per game (9.07). Saint Mary's has held their opponents to under 60 points in three of their last five games and are 2-1 during that stretch. 

Over the course of the season, the Gaels are just 2-7 when opponents break the 70-point ceiling compared to 7-4 in conference play when holding opponents to under 70 points. It's difficult to put a specific number on any statistic in sports but this year's Gaels squad will go as far as their defense will take them, and their odds of winning get a whole lot better when they limit teams to 70 points or fewer.  

Aokuso Reset…

After a tough end to the Gaels home defeat against Portland two weeks ago, including four costly turnovers from Aokuso, Zeryhia Aokuso took a step back and came off the bench for Saint Mary's in their dominant road win over Pepperdine that same weekend. Aokuso responded with a terrific performance, leading the team with 16 points, seven boards and four assists. More importantly, Aokuso was turnover free and had three steals defensively, her ninth game of the season with multiple steals. 

Aokuso has only turned the ball over three times in the team's last three games and is averaging over 12 points, four rebounds and three steals during that stretch. She also leads the team with 80 assists on the season, good for nearly four a game. The conference's reigning Freshman of the Year has shown flashes of her old self all season long since coming back from injury and she'll need to continue that trend if the Gaels are to make a deep postseason run into March. 

Importance of the Three Ball…

Over the last month of the season, Saint Mary's has combined to shoot just 29% from three-point range. During those seven games they have failed to eclipse the 30% mark four times and are just 1-3 over that stretch. This year's Gaels squad features length and athleticism on the defensive end of the floor and even though the three ball was not a huge part of their game, ranking ninth in the WCC in three's attempted (421), they were shooting it at an efficient clip nearing 35%.    

Sophomore shooting guard Emily Foy continues to be a great spark off the bench for the Gaels especially from three-point range, leading the team with 40 made three's at a 37% clip. Foy has been a catalyst in several late-game comebacks for Saint Mary's throughout the season and when she can come off the bench and bring a deep ball threat, the Gaels get a lot more dynamic offensively. Foy has hit multiple three's in two of her last four games and is shooting the three ball at 44% during that stretch.  

Around the League…

The top of the conference standings became a lot more entertaining entering the final week of the regular season after San Francisco upset Gonzaga last weekend, creating a dead tie between the Zags and Portland for the top spot at 15-3. Washington State remains in third after a weekend sweep at 13-6 and Oregon State continues to surge, winning six of their last seven games to sit in fourth place. 

San Francisco's upset win over Gonzaga and a Saint Mary's defeat put the Dons into fifth place while the Gaels and Tigers sit in a tie for sixth place at 9-9. The Gaels can still sweep their final two games and climb as high as fourth place, with some help, in the conference standings and earn an automatic trip to the quarterfinals.  

ABOUT THE BEAVERS (WCC)

Oregon State has been one of the hottest teams in the WCC over the final two months of the regular season, sitting in fourth place at 11-7. They handed Saint Mary's their largest defeat of the season with a 35-point home win earlier this month. The Beavers don't typically score the ball at an alarming rate but they are the league's top defensive team allowing just 62 points per game. 

The beavers have five players averaging at least points per game and are led by Kelsey Rees and AJ Marotte, the team's lone double-figure scorers. Rees also ranks second in the WCC averaging 7.8 rebounds per game and has four double-doubles on the season. Over their last six wins, Oregon State has won by an average margin of 16 points, absolutely dominating the last month and a half of the season. The only caveat, the Beavers have only played two teams in the top half of the standings (Saint Mary's & Gonzaga) over that seven game stretch dating back to January 30th.  

Oregon State is excellent from the free throw line and on the glass, ranking second in both categories shooting 76% from the stripe and averaging nearly 40 boards a game. They will finish the regular season on the road against Saint Mary's Thursday night and then Pepperdine on Saturday in an effort to remain in the top-four of the standings.  

ABOUT THE LIONS (WCC)

LMU enters the final week of conference play with a record of 5-13 and are fresh off a home win over Pepperdine, 58-49. Prior to that win, the Lions had dropped three straight including a pair of road defeats to Washington State and Gonzaga. The Lions are nearly solidified in the nine spot and will play in the second round of the conference tournament against the eight seed. 

LMU ranks sixth in scoring, defense and three-point shooting. A big pro for the Lions is they take care of the basketball, allowing just 12 turnovers per game. When they can shoot the three, protect the ball and turn the other team over, they can be a tough team night in and night out. 

The Lions boast three double-digit scorers including Naudia Evans who ranks sixth in the WCC averaging over 15 points per game. Maya Hernandez averages 12 points and seven boards per game to give the Lions a presence on the glass despite ranking second to last in the WCC with just 31 rebounds per game. LMU and Saint Mary's have seen quite a bit of each other over the last few years, meeting in the first round of the conference tournament each of the last three seasons. The Lions will look to avoid a regular season sweep to the Gaels for the first time since 2020. 

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets for Thursday's home game against Oregon State can be bought online st smcgaels.com/tickets. 

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