MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's returns home after their toughest road test of the season, dropping a pair of games to Portland and Oregon State. They will host top seed Gonzaga Thursday night and then bay area rival San Francisco on Saturday at 5:00 PM. 

The Gaels are riding a three-game losing streak but have everything to play for with four weeks left in the regular season. They sit alone in fourth place at 7-5 and are just two games out of second place while spots four through seven are all separated by just one game. 

GAME COVERAGE

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

WBB | Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco | Moraga, Calif.
UCU Pavilion | Saturday, February 8th | 5:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Maia Jones Scoring Run…

Sophomore guard Maia Jones continues to be one of the team's best individual scorers as she has finished in double figures in three of her last four games. During that stretch, Jones has averaged 15 points to lead the team and also recorded back-to-back 23-point games against San Diego and Santa Clara. 

She leads the team with four 20+ point games this season and the Gaels are 3-1 in those games. Jones leads the team shooting 38% from beyond the arc to represent one of the league's best three-level scorers.  

Jeff Cammon = Defensive Success…

Since Jeff Cammon took over the women's basketball program last season, he has led the Gaels to becoming one of the best defensive teams in the WCC. As a program, Saint Mary's has ranked outside the top-five in defensive points per game for three straight seasons leading up to Cammon's hire prior to the 2023-24 season. 

Since, he has allowed a combined 64.5 points per game ranking fourth in the conference. He has helped shave off over seven points since 2022 when the Gaels allowed over 70 points per game. They also rank third in opponent turnovers per game (17.3) and third in steals averaging nearly ten a game.

Gonzaga Woes…

Gonzaga has had Saint Mary's number as of late, riding an eight-game win streak over the Gaels dating back to 2021. After stumbling out of the gate during their non-conference, the Zags have rattled off nine straight wins and sit atop the conference standings at 10-2. 

The last win for Saint Mary's over Gonzaga came at home in 2020 and they will have a chance to knock off the Bulldogs as they sit three games back of first place entering the final month of the regular season. The Zags average nearly 70 points per game but are second to last  in the conference allowing over 65 points per game.   

Around the League…

Gonzaga continues to roll as they have now won nine straight games and lead the conference at 10-2. Portland completed their home sweep last week with wins over Saint Mary's and Pepperdine to improve to 9-3 and take over sole possession of second place. 

Washington State has bounced back nicely riding a three-game win streak and are in third at 10-4. Then, spots 4-8 are all separated by just one game including a three-way tie for fifth place with Pacific, Oregon State and San Francisco. Saint Mary's has dropped three straight but are still 7-5 alone in fourth place. 

The Gaels will host top seed Gonzaga Thursday evening before hosting San Francisco on Saturday. Saint Mary's will look for their first win over the Zags in UCU Pavilion since 2020 and will try to split the season series with the Dons on Saturday after falling 73-87 in their first matchup back in January.  

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS (WCC)

After going 6-6 in their non-conference slate, the Zags have surged to a 10-2 conference record and have won nine straight games dating back to December 30th. They started 1-2 in WCC play with defeats to San Francisco and Oregon State but have gone 9-0 since with a sweep over Portland and a seven-point road win over Washington State. 

Despite their recent tear during conference play, the Zags have only had three games against opponents in the top half of the WCC (Portland twice and Washington State once). They will finish conference play with five of their final eight games against top half teams. 

The Zags have some special star power on the offensive side of the ball as Yvonne Ejim leads the WCC with over 21 points per game and is the only player in the conference to average over 20 points per game. Three other players are averaging at least eight points per game as the Zags rank second in the WCC in scoring (68.7). 

Gonzaga is seeking their ninth straight WCC regular season title dating back to 2017 and their first conference tournament championship since 2022. Gonzaga will take on Saint Mary's Thursday evening and remain in the bay area to battle San Francisco on Saturday. 

ABOUT THE DONS (WCC)

San Francisco enters the week at 7-6 in conference action and sits in a three-way tie for fifth place. The Dons got off to a 5-0 start in WCC play but took a turn for the worse as their star forward Debora dos Santos went down for the year with a knee injury in early January. Since then, USF has gone 2-6 and have fallen outside the top four in the conference standings. They picked up wins over Oregon State and San Diego but certainly have their work cut out for themselves in the final month of the season. 

San Francisco is the best rebounding team in the conference which has been a critical weakness for Saint Mary's all season long. Despite that, the Dons have shown they can outrebound teams but still lose as they've been positive on the glass in each of their last four defeats. In their first matchup with the Gaels, rebounding and three-point shooting were the key differences as USF splashed home eleven three pointers and were +12 on the glass. 

Since Dos Santos went down the Dons have continued to shoot the three ball at a high rate, ranking third in the conference in three-point attempts. However, they shoot it at just 30% and have been under 31% in three of their last four games. Picking up the slack offensively have been seniors Freja Wreth and Emma Trawally Porta who are the only two active players averaging double figures. Wreth ranks fifth in the conference averaging 16.3 points and has scored over 15 points in five straight games. 

San Francisco will hit the road and take on Pepperdine Thursday evening before returning to the Bay Area to battle Saint Mary's on Saturday at 5:00 PM.        

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