Dec. 9, 2006

Box Score

Cedar City, Utah - Behind a career night from their junior guard Tyler Moran (Carmel, Calif.), the Pacific women's basketball team posted a 62-60 win over Southern Utah on Saturday, December 9. With the win the Tigers improved to 4-5 overall while the Thunderbirds fell to 2-9 overall.

A struggling Tigers team found themselves down six points at the halftime break, unable to find their offensive rhythm throughout the first 20 minutes of the game. With every Pacific run to close the gap within one basket, the Thunderbirds seemed to answer with a three-pointer from the hand of Heather Hillock or Cash Connors. Hillock drained a shot from distance at the first half buzzer to put the Tigers down 31-25 at the break.

The second half was a whole different ballgame as an inspired Pacific squad burst out of the locker-room to score the first 12 points of the second half, taking a six point lead over the Thunderbirds. The Tigers second half charge was led by Moran who netted five of her career-best 14 points during the five minute stretch.

Throughout the half, the Tigers continued to push the pace of the contest, posting a 10 point lead at 53-43 with 5:45 remaining. However, with the Thunderbirds reeling on the heels, a power outage in the building changed the course of the contest, creating a second halftime for the teams and a nail biting finish to the contest.

Down seven points, Southern Utah took advantage of the 15 minute break to regroup as they came out swinging, cutting the Tigers lead to two points at 59-57 with :44 seconds remaining. Under pressure, Pacific's free-throw shooting, a problem through much of the first part of the season, came to life as the Tigers hit 6-of-10 free-throws down the stretch to come away with the win. Freshman Emma Head (San Diego, Calif.) dropped in three free-throws late in the contest to get the Tigers rolling from the line while Moran put in a pair and junior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) hit 1-of-2 to move the Tigers lead to the final score of 62-60.

Overall, the Tigers played one of their most sound games of the season, committing just 10 turnovers in the contest, five in each half. Offensively, Pacific was led by Moran's 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. In addition, Moran posted four rebounds while tallying two assists and two steals. Freshman Jake Kelly (Sacramento, Calif.) had 11 points as they only other Tigers to hit double-figures. Before fouling out, Kelly also had five rebounds and five steals. Senior Wyvonne Jones (Wichita, Kan.) had a season-high seven points, five coming early in the contest that kept the Tigers with in striking distance during the early game struggles. As a team the Tigers posted 15 steals while forcing 20 Thunderbird turnovers.

On the other side of the ball, Southern Utah was led by Hillock who posted a game-high 20 points, hitting 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Connors added 17 points with four from distance and Emily Mothershed posted 10 points to round out the scoring.

The Tigers will next be in action on Tuesday, December 12 as they travel to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.