LAS VEGAS, Nev. - As exhilarating as wins in March can be in college basketball, losses in the month can be equally disheartening. On Saturday, head coach Jeff Cammon and the Saint Mary's women's team had to deal with the disappointment of a 74-59 loss to Pacific in the third round of the WCC Tournament.

"This is part of the game, unfortunately," Cammon said. "We'll learn from it as a program and individually, but (I'm) just proud of these young ladies and what they've pushed through this year."

The Gaels fell to 14-16 after having gone 10-10 in WCC play to finish sixth in the 11-team conference. In the previous season, Cammon's first in Moraga, SMC went 13-18 overall, 6-10 in WCC play to finish sixth in what was a nine-team conference.

"We're so inconsistent," Cammon said. "We're still in that process, that growth stage."

Part of that inconsistency stemmed from the fact that the Gaels had only one senior on their roster, guard Kennedy Johnson. The Bishop O'Dowd High alum had spent two seasons at UC Santa Barbara and one at Idaho before transferring to SMC.

Johnson thrived with the Gaels, averaging 12.1 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. The WCC Newcomer of the Year had 13 points and a game- and career-high 15 boards in the loss to the Tigers.

"I was pushed beyond levels I'd never been before and I think it shows me that I can do hard things and I'll become just a better individual because of it," Johnson said, in reference to her season as a whole.

Redshirt sophomore guard Maia Jones led the Gaels in scoring for the season at 12.2 points per game and had a team-high 17 points Saturday. That included a flurry of three 3-pointers in the span of just more than a minute down the stretch to keep SMC within striking distance of Pacific.

"She's such a gifted scorer," Cammon said of Jones, whom he recruited in his previous job as the head coach at Long Beach State. "When she's playing downhill with confidence, she's tough to guard."

The New Zealand native put together an excellent all-around performance in what was likely the Gaels' most memorable game of the season. They overcame a 20-point deficit to knock Oregon State 69-66 on Feb. 27 in the home finale. Jones scored 27 points (21 in the second half) and added six assists and four steals.

"I think we went into that (game) with the mindset that we had nothing to lose," Jones said, adding that she and her teammates wanted to win that game particularly for Johnson on her Senior Night. "I felt like that game was the closest we've been as a team all season."

The one glaring deficiency for the Gaels for most of the season was on the glass. They were outrebounded by an average of 3.7 boards per game. On Saturday, the Tigers owned a 42-34 rebounding edge and they outscored the Gaels 42-22 in the paint.

"We've got to get some size," Cammon said. "You have to be able to be to rebound and you have to have a presence on the inside. "Our kids fought. It wasn't that they didn't compete. It's just sometimes you may be outmatched."

Cammon said he sees brighter days ahead for the Gaels.

"We have some really solid pieces," Cammon said. "I like what we did this year to grow in a lot of ways, but we've got to do a lot of work to do in order to get to the top of this conference like we want to. We competed with the best of 'em this year with a young roster, and I'm excited for the future."

Cammon was asked what he'll remember most about this season 10-20 years from now.

 "Don't get me emotional man," Cammon said. "Those are things that really tap into my soul because that's what it's about, the experiences."

"We've shared a lot of moments on and off the court, but I just remember those bus rides, them talking about my bald head. … There are lot of special moments together that I'll remember 15, 20 years from now."