Jan. 20, 2007
Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pacific women's basketball team fell to 7-12 on the season with a 75-61 non-conference loss to UC Davis (8-11) on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Aggies shot a blistering 56.1% (23-for-41) from the field and 52.9% (9-for-17) from behind the three-point line.
Both teams came out firing in the first half with four out of the first five made baskets coming from behind the arc. Freshman Jake Kelly (Sacramento, Calif.) started things off for Pacific hitting a three-pointer on the Tigers' first shot of the game.
Kelly's shot would spur on a see-saw battle with the Tigers holding the slight advantage through the first 10 minutes of the opening half. However, every time the Tigers attempted to build a substantial lead, the Aggies answered back to keep the contest within two baskets led by Heather Bates who scored seven of the Aggies' first 17 points.
Neither team gave any ground to their opponents as witnessed by the seven times the score was tied throughout the half and the 11 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of play. As the Tigers had done in the first 10 minutes, the Aggies took the slight advantage in the bottom half of the opening period, pushing their lead to as much as six points at 25-19 with 9:27 remaining in the half.
Junior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) led the Tigers rally back, giving the Tigers the lead back with eight straight points including back-to-back three-pointers. From there, the Aggies took the half time lead at 38-37, as they bested the Tigers by a single basket, 12-11, through the final six minutes.
The second half started in the same manner as the first half as Kelly knocked down a shot from distance to give the lead back to the Tigers right out of the gates. That is as far as the similarities to the first half would go, however, as the Aggies were able to control the game defensively, leading to easy transition baskets and open looks on the offensive end for their shooters.
As UC Davis was able to build a lead of 10 points (58-48) with just over 10 to play the Tigers showed signs of a comeback as they cut the lead down to just four points with 7:54 remaining in the game as sophomore Renee Roberts (Lodi, Calif.) dropped in her second shot from behind the arc to cap the Tigers' run.
Down just four, a five minute offensive drought ensued for the Tigers' which allowed the Aggies to grow their lead to as much as 16 points, a stretch that was finally ended by a layup by junior Tyler Moran (Carmel, Calif.) at the 2:27 mark in the contest. During the five minute span the Tigers were held without a field goal attempt, their only offensive attempts coming from the line in the form of 1-and-1 free throw attempts that were not converted.
Overall, the Tigers shot well, posting a 40.7 shooting percentage in the contest including a 45.2 shooting percentage in the first half. Sophomore Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Tigers with 12 points, but she saw her double-double stretch end at two in a row as she grabbed four rebounds on the night. Lavender finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. Moran led the way on the boards for Pacific with six as she also finished with nine points, six assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
The Aggies were led by Laura Thomas who scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. Thomas scored 14 of her points in the second half. Three other Aggies hit double-figures as Heather Bates posted 17 points and eight rebounds while Anna Harp had 14 points and Genevieve Costello tallied 12 points on the night.
The Tiger will next be in action on Thursday, January 25, as they travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif. to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs in Big West play. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
