Jan. 4, 2006
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific women's basketball team opened Big West Conference action with a dramatic 58-56 win over the visiting Cal State Northridge Matadors on Wednesday, January 4. With the win the Tigers improved to 4-8 overall and 1-0 in conference play while the Matadors dropped to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in the Big West.
Behind an attack led by the Tigers' freshmen, Pacific captured its second straight victory, earning back-to-back wins for the first time in two seasons. In addition, the Tigers earned their 10th conference opener victory in 18 games and their seventh home conference opening win at home in 10 games.
Out of the gate the Tigers knew that they were going to be in for a fight as both teams traded baskets, playing to a 15-15 tie with just over 12 minutes to play. From that point the Matadors pushed the tempo as they took advantage of an extremely sloppy first half by the Pacific's offense. The Tigers committed 17 first half turnovers that the Matadors converted into 11 first half points. Despite the sloppy half, the Tigers trailed by just six points at 33-27 at the half, mainly due to the strong rebounding and hustle by the Tigers' two freshman starters, Whitney Price (Las Vegas, Calif.) and Renee Roberts (Lodi, Calif.). The pair combined for 15 first half rebounds despite being two of the shortest players on the court. Roberts added eight points in the half to lead the Tigers in scoring.
The second half saw the Tigers out score the Matadors 31-23 in the half, behind senior Carolina Ruiz (Paradise, Calif.) who notched the Tigers' first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ruiz posted seven points and four rebounds in the second half including a three-pointer with 5:15 left in the contest to give the Tigers' their first lead of the half at 51-50. Pacific never trailed again as they were able to withstand a late charge by the Matadors and a last second, wide open, three-point attempt by Krisztina Fuleki, whose shot hit the back of the iron and fell harmlessly to the floor.
For the game, the Tigers were led by three scorers with 11 points as Roberts finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, a career-high. Ruiz added 11 and sophomore Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) tallied 11 including three from downtown. Price finished with a career-best 13 rebounds as the Tigers out-rebounded the Matadors 43-to-29 on the night.
The Matadors were led by Fuleki who scored a contest-high 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting. No other Northridge player reached double figures.
The Tigers will look to continue their winning streak as they hit the road for more Big West action as they travel to UC Riverside on Saturday, January 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:05 pm.
