Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Three Tigers scored in double figures as the Pacific women's basketball defeated Cal State Northridge, 79-73, on Saturday, Jan. 12.

The victory lifted Pacific to 6-10 on the season and 1-2 in the Big West Conference, while Cal State Northridge fell to 0-14 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

Junior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.) finished with a team-high 16 points, while senior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) posted 14 points. Junior Amy VanHollebeke (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the Tigers in double figures with 13 points, while junior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) delivered nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Whitney Ligon led the Matadors with a game-high 40 points as she was 12-for-20 from the field and 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Her 40 points marked the first time since 1998 that a player in the Big West scored over 40+ points. Pacific's Eden Palacio posted 43 against Long Beach State on February 28.

Young started the Tigers off strong in the first half of play scoring four of the first six points of the game as Pacific pushed out to a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of play forcing an early Matador timeout. The initial burst by the Tigers and Young was immediately answered by Ligon as she posted Cal State Northridge's first five points of the game while the Matadors tied the game up at 6-6 with 15:43 left in the half.

For every run the Tigers made in the first half the Matadors answered with a flurry of their own with Ligon leading the surges with 18 first half points. Pacific pushed a lead to as much as nine points in the half with just under eight minutes to play in the half on the back of freshman Beckett Brennan (Littleton, Colo.) who used the most of her seven minutes of action to score a career-best nine points. Brennan hit all three of her three-point attempts in the game, with the three made field goals being a career high as well.

On the verge of breaking the game open and pushing their lead to double-digits, the Tigers succumbed to a final 11-4 run by the Matadors to close out the half that sent both teams into the locker rooms knotted at 37-37.

Out of the break the Tigers took control of the contest, building the double-digit lead that alluded them in the first half with a 17-4 run of their own in the first eight minutes of the half to lead 54-41. Both Young and Lavender added five points each to the Tigers' cause during the stretch.

With a comfortable lead, Pacific was able to endure a stellar second half effort by Ligon who scored 22 points in the final 20 minutes of the game. Despite Ligon's attempt to single-handedly will her team back into the game, the Tigers' lead would never drop below a two possession game as they held on for the six point win.

The Tigers won the shooting battle for the day, shooting 43.9% from the floor (29-of-66) while the Matadors scored at a 40.0% clip (24-of-60) for the game after hitting 50.0% from the floor in the first half. Pacific's outside marksmanship may have proved the difference in the contest as they tied the season high for three-pointers made with 10 in the game in 21 attempts (47.6%). Lavender led the way hitting 4-of-6 from distance.

Pacific returns to the court on Thursday, Jan. 17 as the Tigers travel to Irvine, Calif. to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters.