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LOS ANGELES - The LMU women's basketball team will return to Gersten Pavilion for its home opener against Saint Louis on Sunday, Nov. 13 for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Sunday's game will serve as LMU's pancreatic awareness game.

Last Time Out
Tipping of the 35th season of LMU women's basketball, the Lions fell to Washington State's high-powered offense, 92-45, Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.

Washington State hit on 32-of-79 (40.5 percent) from the floor, while holding LMU to just 14-of-57 (24.6 percent). The Cougars bench contributed 42 points and its stingy defense created 34 points off turnovers.

Jackie Johnson finished just shy of a double-double in her Lion debut, netting nine points to go with eight rebounds. Leslie Lopez-Wood posted 10 points, while Raychel Stanley also registered double figures with 10 points and collected six rebounds. Washington State's Borislava Hristova posted a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from deep.

Recap: Washington State Tops Women's Basketball, 92-45, in Season Opener

Preseason Predictions
LMU was predicted to finish sixth overall in the WCC women's basketball preseason poll, as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.

Related Link: Women's Basketball Selected Sixth in WCC Preseason Poll

Gonzaga edged BYU for the top spot by one point, earning 76 points and five first-place votes. The Cougars received four first-place votes and Saint Mary's nabbed the final first-place vote and 66 overall points. San Diego (58) and Santa Clara (44) checked in ahead of LMU (36), who earned its highest ranking since 2013, when it was also selected to finish sixth.

Defending WCC tournament champion San Francisco was narrowed by the Lions by one point to hold the seventh spot, while it beat out Pacific by a one-point margin as the Tigers penned the eight spot. Pepperdine and Portland finished in a tie for ninth with 13 points apiece.


From Downtown
Senior Leslie Lopez-Wood broke the all-time 3-point career record a season ago and holds 211 to her name entering the 2016-17 season. Lopez-Wood has lead the Lions in triples in each of her three seasons, and also set the single season mark with 82 makes from beyond-the-arc a season ago.

Dishing it Out
Andee Velasco set the LMU freshman record with 125 assists a season ago, which also ranks No. 6 all-time in a single season.

On the Boards
Bree Alford hauled down a LMU sophomore record 252 rebounds, good for second on the team and sixth in the WCC, while also ranking No. 8 all-time in a single season.

Leading the Charge
Charity Elliott is in her fifth year at the helm of the program. The 2016-17 squad features three seniors as Shelbi Aimonetti and Leslie Lopez-Wood return to the court, while Jackie Johnson returns to the court after sitting out due to transfer rules last year.

Bree Alford, who lead the team with 116 rebounds a season ago, and Makenzie Cast round out the returning juniors, while an experienced sophomore class returns. Cheyanne Wallace, All-WCC freshman team selection, is the Lions leading returning scorer after averaging 11.2 points per game in her rookie season. Fellow sophomore Andee Velasco also posted double digit scoring figures with 10.5 ppg, while Bianca Velasco and NK Ilang were key players off the bench.

Fresh Faces
Raychel Stanley, Cierra Belvin and Brittney Reed will look to make instant impacts this season. Stanley had a standout performance at Washington State, totaling 10 points and seven rebounds in her debut, while Belvin saw action coming off the bench.

Related Link: Women's Basketball Signees Complete Standout Senior Seasons

Scouting Saint Louis
Saint Louis edged UC Irvine, 79-69, in its season opener Friday night. Jordan Frantz, Jackie Kemph and Maddison Gits combined for 58 points, with Frantz and Kemph each netting 20 points apiece

Kemp led the nation in assists per game last season with a 7.09 clip and is the third-leading returning scorer in the Atlantic 10 after posting 16.6 points per game a season ago.

2017 WCC Championships
The 2017 West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships return to the bright lights of Las Vegas and Orleans Arena on March 2 through March 7 as 20 teams battle for two spots in the NCAA Tournament. Visit WCCSports.com today for complete championship and ticket information.

2016-17 Basketball Tickets on Sale!
This season, LMU continues its partnership with TicketsWest! Individual game, special promotional, and season tickets to the 2016-17 LMU basketball season are on sale NOW through the online ticketing system and all events can be done through LMULions.com.