MORAGA/MALIBU/SAN DIEGO – After more than a week away from the court to celebrate the holidays, the San Diego women's basketball team (4-7, 0-2 WCC) are set to embark on a busy week with three games over six days.

The Toreros will first take on Saint Mary's (7-5, 3-0 WCC) on Monday, December 30 at 2:00 p.m. from Moraga and will kick off the new year in Malibu against Pepperdine (5-6, 0-2 WCC) on Thursday, January 2 at 6:00 p.m. San Diego will then head back home for a Saturday matinee at home against Pacific (5-8, 1-2 WCC) on January 4 for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. 

LAST TIME OUT

• San Diego dropped their most recent game as they fell to Gonzaga 66-59 on December 21 at Jenny Craig Pavilion for USD's second conference game of the 2024-25 season.
• Kylie Horstmeyer and Ava Ranson both reached double figures in scoring against the Bulldogs as they combined for 25 of their team's points and came away with five steals as well. 
• USD also received strong contributions from Lauren McCall, as she scored eight points, dished out a team-high six assists and came away with a pair of steals to end her team's first weekend of West Coast Conference play. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SAINT MARY'S

• Monday afternoon's game in Moraga will be the 71st all-time meeting between the Gaels and Toreros as Saint Mary's holds the 47-23 advantage for the long time conference foes. 
• The two teams split both meetings last season with the home team emerging victorious in both games as Saint Mary's won 67-59 at University Credit Pavilion, while the Toreros bested the Gaels 69-52 in San Diego on February 24, 2024. 
• Horstmeyer got the start in both games against SMC last season as she averaged 12 points across both games on a highly efficient 55% shooting percentage. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PEPPERDINE

• Thursday evening's game against the Waves will be the 92nd all-time meeting between San Diego and Pepperdine, as the Waves hold the overall 47-44 advantage.
• USD faced the Waves three total times during the 2023-24 season as the road team won both meetings before San Diego bested Pepperdine in the first round of the WCC Tournament 79-64 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. 
• The Toreros played a complete team game in last season's conference tournament meeting with the Waves as five different USD players reached double figures in scoring to advance to the next round. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PACIFIC

• Saturday afternoon's home matinee with the Tigers will be the 37th all-time game between Pacific and USD as the Toreros hold a 22-14 overall advantage despite dropping three straight to UOP. 
• The Tigers won all three meetings between the team in 2023-24, as they bested USD in the second round of the WCC Tournament by a narrow 72-66 margin in Las Vegas. 
• Horstmeyer capped her season with a tremendous performance against the Tigers as she scored 18 points off the bench to go along with three assists and a pair of steals from Orleans Arena. 

SCOUTING THE GAELS

• Saint Mary's enters Monday's game feeling good with a 7-5 mark to go with a perfect 3-0 record in WCC action. The Gaels have earned victories over Santa Clara, LMU and Pacific in the early portions of league play. 
• Senior guard Kennedy Johnson has excelled in her debut season in Moraga as she's averaging a team-high 13.7 PPG, and scored a season-high 25 points in their conference opener against Santa Clara. 
• As a team, the Gaels have performed well on the defensive end of the floor by holding their opponents to 39% shooting from the field and just 31% from three-point range. 

SCOUTING THE WAVES 

• Pepperdine begins this week with a 5-6 overall record and have lost their first two WCC games of the season to both Santa Clara and Washington State. 
• The Waves' leading scorer this season has been graduate student guard Ella Brubaker who's averaging 12.1 PPG on a highly efficient 53% from the field as she's played in 11 games and made five starts. 
• USD will look to try and create problems for Pepperdine's offense as they currently sit 10th in the WCC in team points per game as they've averaged 61.6 through their first 11 games. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS 

• Pacific enters this week with a 5-8 overall record and a 1-2 mark in WCC action as they beat Oregon State before falling short against Portland and Saint Mary's. 
• The Tigers have a dynamic one-two scoring punch graduate student guard Liz Smith and senior forward Elizabeth Elliott as they're both averaging 14 PPG to spearhead the team's offensive attack. 
• USD will look to try and exploit the Tigers' defense as they're allowing 68.3 PPG this season which is currently the second worst mark among WCC schools during the 2024-25 season. 

HOW TO FOLLOW
Monday, Thursday and Saturday's games will be streamed on ESPN+, links to live stats and the broadcast can be found on the team's website. To stay up to date with San Diego women's basketball, please follow the team on Instagram and Twitter/X by searching "USDWBB."