Thursday, February 5
Moraga, CA
6:30 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
LMU
Photo by: Evan Roehrig/Saint Mary's Athletics
WBB | Saint Mary’s Returns to Bay Area for Clash with LMU and San Francisco
2/3/2026 2:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Gaels' women's basketball team is back in the Bay Area for two games this week, including a Thursday night home game against LMU at University Credit Union Pavilion.
Saint Mary's (13-10, 4-6 WCC) enters its final eight regular season games with the best scoring defense in the West Coast Conference and within striking distance of the top six – just two games back of sixth-place San Francisco, who the Gaels will visit on Saturday night in the city. Saint Mary's has won two of its last three games and will look to defend home court on Thursday night against the third-place Lions (14-8, 8-3 WCC).
Both games can be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets for Saint Mary's home games can be purchased online at smcgaels.com.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
WBB | Saint Mary's vs. LMU | UCU Pavilion
Moraga, Calif. | February 5th | 6:30 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
WBB | Saint Mary's at San Francisco | War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
San Francisco, Calif. | February 7th | 2:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Shoff Reaches Double-Figures in 4 of Last 5 Games…
Abigail Shoff continues to emerge as the Gaels top offensive threat, scoring a team high 14 points in their 68-42 loss to Portland last week. Her 14-point performance went down as her fourth game in double-figures out of her last five and she now leads the team in scoring with 8.0 points per game. Shoff is a dynamic three-level scorer for the Gaels and at 6-feet tall, she operates efficiently out of the post with a solid mid-range game.
Along with her recent scoring stretch, Shoff hit the game-winner for Saint Mary's in their 53-51 victory over Pepperdine back on January 22nd. She has since combined for 24 points over her last two games while also averaging over five rebounds. In her 14-point performance against the Pilots, Shoff also grabbed a season high eight rebounds and made a career high eight free throws, finishing 8-for-10 from the stripe. She's shooting over 40% from the field and averaging nearly four rebounds per game through 23 games this season.
Saint Mary's Leads WCC with 58.0 Opp. PPG…
Head coach Jeff Cammon and his squad may have had an off night defensively last week against Portland, but they still remain in the top of the conference in several defensive categories. The Gaels still lead the WCC allowing just 58.0 points per game and now rank second in opponent three-point percentage at 29.6%.
For the first time this season, the Gaels have reached the positive side in turnover margin, lowering their average to under 18 a game and ranking second in turnovers forced at 18.3 per game. Aiding in turnovers forced for the Gaels are Edie Clarke and Jada Hunter who both rank inside the top-10 in the WCC in blocks and steals. Clarke leads the team with 24 blocks on the season and ranks seventh in the conference while Hunter brought her season steal total to a career high 50, good for second most in the WCC. Clarke follows closely behind with 44 steals of her own, ranking 5th in the conference.
Gaels Rank 2nd in WCC with 9.8 SPG…
Saint Mary's has seen record setting numbers on the defensive side of the ball over the three years under head coach Jeff Cammon including a stretch of ten steals per game this season. The Gaels dipped below ten steals for the first time in over a month, but still rank third in the WCC with 9.8 per game.
Edie Clarke and Jada Hunter represent two of the top-five individual steal leaders in the conference with Hunter averaging 2.2 a game and Clarke at 1.9. If Saint Mary's can finish the season above nine steals per game, they'll set a new single-season program record in the modern era dating back to the 2000-01 season.
Two-Game Win Streak Snapped in Portland…
Saint Mary's saw their two-game win streak come to an end last week after they fell to Portland 68-42, giving the Pilots the regular season sweep for the second consecutive season. Despite outrebounding the Pilots 37-25 including 20 offensive rebounds, the Gaels struggled from beyond the arc to finish 0-for-11 from three-point range for the first time this season. On the flip side, Portland shot 56% from the field and were an impressive 10-for-16 from downtown for one of their best percentages of the season.
Abigail Shoff reached double-figures again for the Gaels, leading the team with 14 points, a season high eight rebounds and finishing 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Addi Wedin added six points in the starting lineup while Melesungu Afeaki shot 50% from the field, good for five points off the bench. The Gaels suffered just their second defeat of the season when outrebounding their opponent, having been 8-1 when plus on the glass prior to their defeat to the Pilots.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and LMU have played tag for the better part of the last four seasons as the two programs are an even 3-3 over their last six meetings. The two teams have also seen each other as many as three times in a single-season with matchups in the Conference Tournament in 2023 and 2024. Saint Mary's defended home court last season with a 59-54 victory before falling on the road in Los Angeles 65-61 to end the regular season. Thursday's matchup will be the lone one between the two programs this season as the addition of Seattle U created single-games with LMU, Oregon State, San Diego and Gonzaga.
Saint Mary's snapped a four-game losing streak to San Francisco last season, winning the second matchup in Moraga 52-49. The Gaels will look for their first win in San Francisco though since 2023. The Gaels are 28-14 dating back to 2002 thanks largely in part to a seven-game win streak from 2017-2020.
ABOUT THE LIONS (14-8, 8-3)
LMU is off to one of their best conference starts in program history, entering the week at 8-3 good for a tie for third place along with Santa Clara. The Lions are one of four teams to average at least 70 points in the WCC and have one of the best turnover margins in the conference, ranking second with just 13 turnovers per game while forcing over 18 from their opponents.
LMU stands as one of the more balanced offenses in the conference as they have six players averaging five or more points including three in double-figures. Jess Lawson and Maya Hernandez are each averaging 14 points per game while Andjela Matic sits firmly at 10.0 points per game while ranking eighth in the WCC with 3.1 assists per game. Lawson began her collegiate career as a junior college product from Cochise College and has since made stops at Illinois Springfield in Division II and most recently Central Michigan. Her 7.9 rebounds per game ranks third in the conference as she has five double-doubles on the season.
After falling in double overtime to Gonzaga in their conference opener, LMU went on to win six of their next seven games including key wins over Santa Clara, Oregon State and Portland. They did stumble with a nine-point loss to San Diego on January 24th but have since won back-to-back games over Pacific and Seattle U to sit at 8-3 in conference play.
ABOUT THE DONS (13-9, 6-5)
San Francisco enters the week at 13-9 overall and 6-5 in conference play. They'll hit the road on Thursday to take on Seattle U before returning to the Bay Area to host Saint Mary's on Saturday in their first matchup of the 2025-26 season. The Dons are currently riding a two-game losing streak featuring an overtime defeat to Gonzaga followed by a 22-point road loss to conference leaders Oregon State. Prior to last week though, USF had rattled off three straight wins to sit at 6-3 in conference play. Two wins this week could put them back in the mix inside the top-four of the WCC standings along with LMU, Santa Clara and Gonzaga who all sit at eight wins.
The Dons don't stand out in any one statistical category, but they do possess one of the best offensive players in the WCC in Candy Edokpaigbe who ranks third in the conference with 16.7 points per game. Ironically, Edokpaigbe transferred into San Francisco from Seattle U where she spent her freshman season in 2024-25. With the Redhawks, she was named to the All-WAC Freshman Team and averaged 11.1 points while shooting 51% from the field. This season, she's posting a career high 16.7 points per game and playing over 30 minutes a night as a 6-foot guard for the Dons.
Aina Cargol is also in double-figures for USF, averaging over eleven points per game while Noelia Mourino leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 a night. San Francisco is 8-5 at home this season and have not lost in the Sobrato Center to Saint Mary's since 2023 as they'll look to defend home court Saturday afternoon.
Tickets for both games can be bought online at smcgaels.com and fans can catch all the action 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.
#GaelsRise
Saint Mary's (13-10, 4-6 WCC) enters its final eight regular season games with the best scoring defense in the West Coast Conference and within striking distance of the top six – just two games back of sixth-place San Francisco, who the Gaels will visit on Saturday night in the city. Saint Mary's has won two of its last three games and will look to defend home court on Thursday night against the third-place Lions (14-8, 8-3 WCC).
Both games can be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets for Saint Mary's home games can be purchased online at smcgaels.com.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
WBB | Saint Mary's vs. LMU | UCU Pavilion
Moraga, Calif. | February 5th | 6:30 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
WBB | Saint Mary's at San Francisco | War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
San Francisco, Calif. | February 7th | 2:00 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Shoff Reaches Double-Figures in 4 of Last 5 Games…
Abigail Shoff continues to emerge as the Gaels top offensive threat, scoring a team high 14 points in their 68-42 loss to Portland last week. Her 14-point performance went down as her fourth game in double-figures out of her last five and she now leads the team in scoring with 8.0 points per game. Shoff is a dynamic three-level scorer for the Gaels and at 6-feet tall, she operates efficiently out of the post with a solid mid-range game.
Along with her recent scoring stretch, Shoff hit the game-winner for Saint Mary's in their 53-51 victory over Pepperdine back on January 22nd. She has since combined for 24 points over her last two games while also averaging over five rebounds. In her 14-point performance against the Pilots, Shoff also grabbed a season high eight rebounds and made a career high eight free throws, finishing 8-for-10 from the stripe. She's shooting over 40% from the field and averaging nearly four rebounds per game through 23 games this season.
Saint Mary's Leads WCC with 58.0 Opp. PPG…
Head coach Jeff Cammon and his squad may have had an off night defensively last week against Portland, but they still remain in the top of the conference in several defensive categories. The Gaels still lead the WCC allowing just 58.0 points per game and now rank second in opponent three-point percentage at 29.6%.
For the first time this season, the Gaels have reached the positive side in turnover margin, lowering their average to under 18 a game and ranking second in turnovers forced at 18.3 per game. Aiding in turnovers forced for the Gaels are Edie Clarke and Jada Hunter who both rank inside the top-10 in the WCC in blocks and steals. Clarke leads the team with 24 blocks on the season and ranks seventh in the conference while Hunter brought her season steal total to a career high 50, good for second most in the WCC. Clarke follows closely behind with 44 steals of her own, ranking 5th in the conference.
Gaels Rank 2nd in WCC with 9.8 SPG…
Saint Mary's has seen record setting numbers on the defensive side of the ball over the three years under head coach Jeff Cammon including a stretch of ten steals per game this season. The Gaels dipped below ten steals for the first time in over a month, but still rank third in the WCC with 9.8 per game.
Edie Clarke and Jada Hunter represent two of the top-five individual steal leaders in the conference with Hunter averaging 2.2 a game and Clarke at 1.9. If Saint Mary's can finish the season above nine steals per game, they'll set a new single-season program record in the modern era dating back to the 2000-01 season.
Two-Game Win Streak Snapped in Portland…
Saint Mary's saw their two-game win streak come to an end last week after they fell to Portland 68-42, giving the Pilots the regular season sweep for the second consecutive season. Despite outrebounding the Pilots 37-25 including 20 offensive rebounds, the Gaels struggled from beyond the arc to finish 0-for-11 from three-point range for the first time this season. On the flip side, Portland shot 56% from the field and were an impressive 10-for-16 from downtown for one of their best percentages of the season.
Abigail Shoff reached double-figures again for the Gaels, leading the team with 14 points, a season high eight rebounds and finishing 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Addi Wedin added six points in the starting lineup while Melesungu Afeaki shot 50% from the field, good for five points off the bench. The Gaels suffered just their second defeat of the season when outrebounding their opponent, having been 8-1 when plus on the glass prior to their defeat to the Pilots.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and LMU have played tag for the better part of the last four seasons as the two programs are an even 3-3 over their last six meetings. The two teams have also seen each other as many as three times in a single-season with matchups in the Conference Tournament in 2023 and 2024. Saint Mary's defended home court last season with a 59-54 victory before falling on the road in Los Angeles 65-61 to end the regular season. Thursday's matchup will be the lone one between the two programs this season as the addition of Seattle U created single-games with LMU, Oregon State, San Diego and Gonzaga.
Saint Mary's snapped a four-game losing streak to San Francisco last season, winning the second matchup in Moraga 52-49. The Gaels will look for their first win in San Francisco though since 2023. The Gaels are 28-14 dating back to 2002 thanks largely in part to a seven-game win streak from 2017-2020.
ABOUT THE LIONS (14-8, 8-3)
LMU is off to one of their best conference starts in program history, entering the week at 8-3 good for a tie for third place along with Santa Clara. The Lions are one of four teams to average at least 70 points in the WCC and have one of the best turnover margins in the conference, ranking second with just 13 turnovers per game while forcing over 18 from their opponents.
LMU stands as one of the more balanced offenses in the conference as they have six players averaging five or more points including three in double-figures. Jess Lawson and Maya Hernandez are each averaging 14 points per game while Andjela Matic sits firmly at 10.0 points per game while ranking eighth in the WCC with 3.1 assists per game. Lawson began her collegiate career as a junior college product from Cochise College and has since made stops at Illinois Springfield in Division II and most recently Central Michigan. Her 7.9 rebounds per game ranks third in the conference as she has five double-doubles on the season.
After falling in double overtime to Gonzaga in their conference opener, LMU went on to win six of their next seven games including key wins over Santa Clara, Oregon State and Portland. They did stumble with a nine-point loss to San Diego on January 24th but have since won back-to-back games over Pacific and Seattle U to sit at 8-3 in conference play.
ABOUT THE DONS (13-9, 6-5)
San Francisco enters the week at 13-9 overall and 6-5 in conference play. They'll hit the road on Thursday to take on Seattle U before returning to the Bay Area to host Saint Mary's on Saturday in their first matchup of the 2025-26 season. The Dons are currently riding a two-game losing streak featuring an overtime defeat to Gonzaga followed by a 22-point road loss to conference leaders Oregon State. Prior to last week though, USF had rattled off three straight wins to sit at 6-3 in conference play. Two wins this week could put them back in the mix inside the top-four of the WCC standings along with LMU, Santa Clara and Gonzaga who all sit at eight wins.
The Dons don't stand out in any one statistical category, but they do possess one of the best offensive players in the WCC in Candy Edokpaigbe who ranks third in the conference with 16.7 points per game. Ironically, Edokpaigbe transferred into San Francisco from Seattle U where she spent her freshman season in 2024-25. With the Redhawks, she was named to the All-WAC Freshman Team and averaged 11.1 points while shooting 51% from the field. This season, she's posting a career high 16.7 points per game and playing over 30 minutes a night as a 6-foot guard for the Dons.
Aina Cargol is also in double-figures for USF, averaging over eleven points per game while Noelia Mourino leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 a night. San Francisco is 8-5 at home this season and have not lost in the Sobrato Center to Saint Mary's since 2023 as they'll look to defend home court Saturday afternoon.
Tickets for both games can be bought online at smcgaels.com and fans can catch all the action 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.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
PF
/ Women's BasketballPF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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