Dec. 3, 2008
Box Score
Stockton, Calif.- The Pacific womens' basketball team returned to the Alex G. Spanos Center on Wednesday Dec. 3, and defeated Portland State 68-50 behind an 11 point, 13 rebound performance from senior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.). The win moved the Tigers to 2-3 overall, while Portland State fell to 5-2 on the year.
The first half started off slowly for the Tigers, as Portland State surged out to a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes. Determined to not let the Vikings get too far ahead, senior point guard Amy VanHollebeke (Carlsbad, Calif.) buried a jumper, to cut the lead down to 7-4. Several missed shots ensued by both teams, and defense rose to the top several turnovers were forced, until senior Amber Simmons (Chico, Calif.) scored on a layup to bring Pacific within one, trailing 7-6.
Simmons again scored with 15:17 left in the half to give Pacific their first lead of the game, a lead the Tigers would not lose, taking an 8-7 advantage in the game. Fellow senior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored her first two points less then 30 seconds later to put the Tigers on top 10-7. The teams exchanged buckets for several minutes when a jumper by Portland State's Courtney Cremer cut the Tiger lead to four, 17-13. Pacific turned on their offense from there as Young went 2-for-2 from the stripe to make it 19-13, and moments later sophomore Jennifer Fath (Carrollton, Texas) hit a three-pointer to break it wide openat 22-13, with 8:02 remaining.
The Vikings would not go down without a fight however, mounting a scoring rally of their own as Claire Faucher made a free-throw, then Kelly Marchant went off the glass for a layup, and Eyn Jones hit a jumper with 5:44 left, to make it a 22-18 game. A few minutes passed as the teams again answered points for points. Simmons hit two free-throws to extend the lead 26-20, and then Young scored five unanswered points over the next minute and 20 seconds to put the Tigers up 31-20 with 3:47 left in the half. Faucher made a layup in transition to give the Vikings another score, and Fath made a free-throw as time wound down to send the teams into the half with Pacific on top 33-22.
The second half again started out with Portland State striking first. Katia Hadj-Hamou hit a jumper right out of the gate to cut the lead to single digits, 33-24. Simmons and Faucher combined to score the next six points, and Kelli Valentine hit a jumper for the Vikings to make it 36-28 early in the second half. Once again, missed shots plagued both teams, as the next several minutes consisted of six missed shots and four turnovers between both squads.
Leading 41-32, Pacific junior Jasmine Dana (Bakersfield, Calif.) hit a layup, but Cremer answered for the Vikings with a jumper of her own to make it 43-34 Tiger lead. A few minutes passed and the Tigers continued to lead as freshman Claire McLeod (Victoria, Australia) hit her first basket with 11:20 left in the half to give Pacific a 13 point lead, 49-36.
Only five points were scored over the next 4:43, until VanHollebeke hit a triple to put the Tigers up 20, 56-36 with 6:37 left in the game. As the minutes rolled by, time was running out on the Vikings as Pacific's defense refused to let up. Holding Portland State to 32.4% shooting in the second half, the Tigers controlled the pace of the game, and refused to let Portland State back into it. Fath hit a pair of free-throws to put Pacific up 65-46, with 2:13 left to play. The Tigers ran down the clock, and the buzzer sounded with Pacific sealing the 68-50 victory over the Vikings.
Pacific was led by Simmons who totaled 22 points on the night. Young earned a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Portland State was led by Faucher who scored 14 to lead the team, she also added eight assists to lead all players.
The Tigers are next in action, Saturday Dec. 6, as they take on Valley rival Fresno State in a double-header with the men's team. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm.
