LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Saint Mary's in WCC Second Place


Suzie Davis knocked down a career-high 17 points in the win over SCU. She added 14 points against USF. Photos Tod Fierner

Saint Mary's entered West Coast Conference play predicted to finish in second place behind Gonzaga and with three games left in the season, they are right on track to fulfill preseason expectations. Saint Mary's is 16-10 overall and 8-3 in WCC play.

Saint Mary's returned home after a tough road trip where they lost to Pepperdine, 48-69 on February 3. Pepperdine is currently in third place. The Gaels bounced back to defeat Loyola Marymount, 58-51 on February 5. With the win the Gaels avenged their season-opening loss to the Lions.

The Gaels carried momentum into their home games last week against Bay Area rivals Santa Clara and the University of San Francisco.

Saint Mary's rallied from down 2-15 in the opening minutes and down 19-34 late in the first half to defeat the Broncos, 75-70. The Gaels fought back in the second, rallying behind redshirt junior guard Jasmine Smith who had 21 points in the second half. Senior guard Suzie Davis also stepped up for the Gaels, notching a career-high 17 points. Senior forward Louella Tomlinson had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Saint Mary's continued their winning ways, again fighting back from a first half deficit on Saturday, February 12, against USF. The Gaels found themselves down 30-33 heading into the locker room at half time. Again, Smith led the comeback, sparking a 15-6 run with a big three pointer with 12 minutes left to play. Davis notched 14 points and sophomore guard Kate Gaze had 13 points.

Tomlinson led all scorers in the win with her fifth consecutive double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. She also had six blocks and three assists. Tomlinson leads the NCAA in blocked shots per game, averaging five per contest. She is tied for the NCAA career triple-doubles record with seven. She is also chasing the SMC all-time points record, she needs to average 13.5 points per game to tie the record.

Tomlinson said that while breaking records is ideal, she does not consciously worry or think about it, instead she focuses on playing well. "Obviously I want to be able to break school records and leave the school with a legacy, but I just want to play in games and its fun to play," Tomlinson said.

Saint Mary's will play first place Gonzaga on February 24. While a win would mean a lot mentally, head coach Paul Thomas said they are not looking at it as a "must win." "We don't need to beat them today or tomorrow. We need to focus on how well our shoot around goes and if we have a good prep day," Thomas said.

He is working on preparing his team for the end of the season grind and tournament play. "We just have to be better about inconsistency and the defending part of the game. We can't give open looks and we need to know how to lock down on defense," Thomas concluded.

The Gaels next match-up is against the University of San Diego on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The teams' four seniors, Tomlinson, Davis, Courtney Dunn and Leanna Richey will be honored. It is also a Pink Zone game and the Gaels will be wearing their pink uniforms.