March 7, 2007
Box Score
Anaheim, Calif. - The Pacific women's basketball team concluded their 2006-07 season as the Tigers fell to Cal State Fullerton, 69-58, in the opening round of the Big West Tournament on Wednesday, Mar. 7.
The Tigers finished the season at 8-22 overall, while Cal State Fullerton advances to the second round with a 15-15 record.
For the first time this season the Tigers played a full 40 minute game in an attempt to extend their season for another 40 minutes. With everything left out on the court, the first round contest came down to a handful of critical possessions and big plays, a category the Titans owned as the No. 5 seed.
The first half turned into a showdown between the Tigers' post players and the Titans' top scorers. Sophomores Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Whitney Price (Las Vegas, Nev.) dominated the paint for Pacific while the Titans' Charlee Underwood and Toni Thomas continued to do what they have done all season as the duo came up with big shot after big shot.
To open the half, Pacific struggled from the field as the Tigers hit just four of their first 14 shots in the contest. Despite the struggles, Dawkins and Price continued to push the Tigers' forward and through the opening slump. Pacific even took the lead for the first and only time at 7-6 just four minutes into the contest but a jumper from Ariel Adams and a huge three-pointer from Underwood put Cal State Fullerton back on top. Accounting for 11 of the 18 points scored by the Titans over the next 11 minutes, Underwood and Thomas pushed Cal State Fullerton's lead to as much as 10 points with just over six minutes left. However, the Tigers continued to push back and behind a 14-7 run, cut the deficit to just three points with :27 seconds remaining in the half.
The Titans would take a five point lead at 38-33 into the half led by Underwood's 12 points and Thomas' 11. For the Tigers, Dawkins entered the break with 13 points and six rebounds while Price posted 11 points in the opening half to tie her previous career-high. As a team, Pacific struggled from behind the arc in the opening half as the Tigers went 0-for-11 from distance.
Out of the break, the Tigers finally broke the drought from the three-point line as senior Wyvonne Jones (Wichita, Kan.) drained a shot from distance to cut the Titans' lead to two points. Yet, as with the entire game, Cal State Fullerton responded to the threat with a quick burst of its own as the Titan's rolled off seven of the next nine points to build their lead back up to nine points. The Tigers fought and scrapped the entire half in an attempt to keep their season alive, but it was not to be as the Titans' experience allowed them to ride every wave thrown at them and keep the Tigers from getting over the hump and recapture the lead in the second half.
Pacific pulled to within two points on two different occasions in the second half and trailed by just five points with 1:47 remaining in the contest, but the shots would not fall for the Tigers to allow them to get any closer. The Titans finished off the game from the line hitting 7-of-8 to pull away for the 11 point win and a ticket to the second round of the tournament.
For the Tigers, Jones finished off her collegiate career in the same manner in which she began her tenure at Pacific as the senior wing poured in a career tying best 15 points in the contest with nine coming in the second half. In addition, Jones finished two back of her career high in rebounds as she grabbed seven of the Tigers game-high 44 rebounds.
Dawkins capped off her sophomore season with one of her best all-around performances as she scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to post her ninth double-double of the season. Defensively, Dawkins blocked three shots. Price, before fouling out of the contest, scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in the effort.
Overall, the Tigers struggled from the floor shooting 35.8 percent while they finished at just 13.6 percent from behind the arc hitting 3-of-22 long distance attempts.
For the Titans, Thomas finished the contest with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way while Underwood posted 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. In addition, Underwood added three steals and one block on the defensive end. As a team, Cal State Fullerton shot 34.5 percent from the floor while hitting 6-of-13 from distance and 23-of-28 from the line.
