WBB | Three-Game Road Trip Ends in Stockton, Saint Mary’s Battles Pacific Thursday Night

Thursday, January 8

Stockton, CA

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

Pacific

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Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

WBB | Three-Game Road Trip Ends in Stockton, Saint Mary’s Battles Pacific Thursday Night

1/6/2026 3:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes vs. Pacific

MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's will conclude their three-game conference road trip in Stockton and take on the Pacific Tigers Thursday, January 8th at 6:00 PM. The Gaels came away with their first WCC win over San Diego on Sunday, holding the Toreros to just 49 points and handing them their fourth consecutive defeat. Emily Foy and Addi Wedin combined for 20 points in the win while Saint Mary's forced 17 turnovers and held USD to just 12.5% from three-point range.

Saint Mary's will look to avenge their WCC Tournament defeat to Pacific last season and continue their regular season win streak over the Tigers after sweeping the regular season series a year ago. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 PM and you can stream the game live on ESPN+.

GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION

WBB | Saint Mary's at Pacific | Alex G. Spanos Center
Stockton, Calif. | January 8th | 6:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Saint Mary's Shuts Down San Diego for First WCC Win…

Saint Mary's led by as many as 18 points Sunday afternoon in Jenny Craig Pavilion but were able to hold off a late San Diego surge to take down the Toreros 57-49 for their first conference victory. Addi Wedin and Emily Foy led the charge with ten points apiece as the Gaels led wire-to-wire for their tenth win of the season.

Defensively, Saint Mary's was stout once again as they held the Toreros under 50 points, the sixth time they've done that this season. They did put up 22 points in the fourth quarter to nearly erase an 18-point deficit but the Gaels went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe over the final two minutes to keep them out of striking distance. The Toreros shot just 33% from the field and 12% from beyond the arc, matching their season low.

Foy and Wedin Combine for 20 Points…

The scoring continues to be balanced for the Gaels this season but Emily Foy and Addi Wedin were the two double-digit scorers in Sunday's win, combining for 20 points in the 57-49 victory. The two players got it done in contrasting ways as Wedin was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line while Foy shot 50% from the field and hit a pair of three-pointers.

Wedin helped the Gaels overcome a cold fourth quarter as she hit all six free throws over the final minute of the game while Foy had five points in each half including a three-pointer on the team's final possession of the third quarter, pushing their lead to 17 points at the time. Wedin leads the team with 8.4 points per game and is shooting a team best 40% from three while Foy is averaging 7.4 points on 45% shooting this season.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme…

Defense has been head coach Jeff Cammon's calling card over his career and since taking over at Saint Mary's, the Gaels have been one of the best defenses in the WCC, allowing 62.2 points and averaging over nine steals per game. This season, the Gaels lead the conference allowing just 57.1 points per game and averaging ten steals. Their average of ten steals through 17 games is the highest since the 1995-96 season when Saint Mary's averaged over 12 steals per game.

Their scoring defense of 57.1 points per game ranks 48th in all of Division I and is the lowest average by a Gaels squad in the modern era, dating back to the 1999-00 season. Saint Mary's is also the only WCC team to hold their opponents to under 60 points with the next best scoring defense clocking in at 60.7 points from San Diego.

Helping aid their defense is second year guard Jada Hunter and sophomore forward Edie Clarke who are both averaging over two steals per game. Hunter just set a new career high with five steals against the Toreros last weekend while Clarke holds the single-game high this season with six steals twice in wins over UC Riverside and Nevada.

Series History…

Saint Mary's and Pacific have gone back and forth over the last decade plus, holding a 17-17 record dating back to 2003. The Tigers held a four-game win streak from 2023-24 which included a conference tournament victory over the Gaels in 2023, but Saint Mary's was able to sweep the regular season series last year for their first two wins over the Tigers since 2022. Pacific had the last laugh though with another quarterfinals victory over Saint Mary's in the WCC Tournament to end their postseason run.

Their last matchup in Stockton came with some fireworks as Pacific hit a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Saint Mary's would rally though as Zeryhia Aokuso hit a fadeaway jumper at the horn to give the Gaels the dramatic 80-78 overtime victory. That shot was later featured on SportsCenter and Saint Mary's started the conference season 4-0 for their best start in a decade.

ABOUT THE TIGERS (7-8, 2-2)

The Pacific Tigers enter the week with a 7-8 overall record and an even 2-2 record in WCC play. Pacific got off to a 1-4 start in non-conference play, dropping four straight games after winning the season opener over UC San Diego on November 3rd. The Tigers were able to bounce back down the stretch of non-conference play, winning four of their final six games before the start of conference play. After two wins over Seattle U and San Diego, the Tigers dropped back-to-back games on the road to the 2025 conference title winners in Oregon State and Portland.

The Tigers average 67.1 points per game while giving up 66.9 per game, ranking 7th and 10th respectively in the WCC. First year transfer Winner Bartholomew leads the team averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 boards per game. Senior forward Sydney Ward is the team's next double-digit scorer with 10.3 points and a team high 5.6 rebounds per game. Pacific also lets it fly from deep, ranking third in the WCC in three-point attempts and fifth in three-point percentage at 32.8%. The glass and defending the perimeter will be big factors for both teams heading into Thursday.

Bradley Davis enters his eleventh season as head coach of the Tigers and his 20th as a member of the women's basketball staff. Davis led the Tigers to a pair of conference tournament wins last season, defeating San Diego and Saint Mary's to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to Washington State. They would also make an appearance in the WNIT but fall in the first round to New Mexico State, 49-54.

Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com and you can stream the game live on ESPN+. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.

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