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Saint Mary’s women’s basketball 2024-25 preview: What to know about Gaels

Saint Mary’s women’s basketball 2024-25 preview: What to know about Gaels

St. Mary’s women’s basketball team is coming off a successful 2023-24 season, where they finished with a 26-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The Gaels are looking to build on that success in 2024-25, and they have a number of key players returning, including All-WCC selection Taycee Wedin and All-Freshman Team honoree Megan McKay.

New coach, same expectations

Saint Mary's women's basketball has a new head coach for the 2024-25 season. Former Gonzaga assistant coach Carly Clarke will take over for Paul Thomas, who left to become the head coach at Washington. Clarke was an All-American player at Stanford and has been an assistant coach at Gonzaga for the past five seasons. She is expected to bring a similar style of play to Saint Mary's, which will be up-tempo and high-scoring.

Key returners

The Gaels return two of their top three scorers from last season in Taycee Wedin and Megan McKay. Wedin, a 6-foot-2 forward, averaged 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season. McKay, also a forward, averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last year. These two players will be counted on to provide leadership and scoring for the Gaels in 2024-25.

Newcomers

The Gaels have added a number of talented newcomers for the 2024-25 season. The most notable addition is 6-foot-4 center Sedona Prince. Prince was a McDonald's All-American in high school and is expected to make an immediate impact for the Gaels. Other newcomers include 6-foot-1 forward Aaliyah Collins and 5-foot-11 guard Emily Coddington. Collins is a transfer from Cal, while Coddington is a freshman from Texas. These players will provide depth and athleticism for the Gaels.

Schedule

The Gaels will open the 2024-25 season with a home game against Sacramento State on November 7. They will then play a challenging non-conference schedule that includes games against Oregon State, Cal, and Stanford. The Gaels will open WCC play on December 29 at home against BYU. They will then play a home-and-home series with each of the other nine WCC teams. The Gaels will finish the regular season with a home game against Pacific on February 26.

Outlook

The Gaels are poised to have another successful season in 2024-25. They have a number of key players returning, and they have added some talented newcomers. The Gaels will be a contender for the WCC title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.