Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Behind a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds from junior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.), the Pacific women's basketball team picked up a Valentines Day victory defeating Cal State Fullerton, 76-72, in overtime on Thursday, Feb. 14.

The victory lifted the Tigers to 10-14 overall and 5-6 in the Big West Conference. Cal State Fullerton, meanwhile, dropped to 8-15 on the season and 6-5 in conference play.

Young scored the first bucket of the game and eight in the first half. Tough defense kept the Tigers in the game early as Pacific scored 14 points off of turnovers alone in the first half.

Cal State Fullerton, however, received a strong effort from post player Toni Thomas, who finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

The battle between the two sides raged on throughout the first half, producing seven lead changes and three ties.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Cal State Fullerton was able to string together an 8-2 run late in the period to take a 26-20 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

Cal State Fullerton held their six-point advantage into halftime, leading the Tigers 34-28.

In the second half, Pacific trailed by as many as 11 at 54-43 with 12:19 to play.

Pacific charged back into the game, scoring the next 10 points. The Tigers began to close the gap as junior Amy VanHollebeke (San Diego, Calif.) and junior Karin Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Co.) both made trips to the courtesy stripe and knocked down two attempts, pulling the Tigers within seven at 54-47. VanHollebeke and Dawkins followed with back-to-back layups, then junior Whitney Price (Las Vegas, Nev.) tossed in a layup of her own to bring the Tigers within a point, 54-53.

Cal State Fullerton displayed their toughness, pushing their lead back to six behind five straight points.

Moments later with the Titans up 65-60 and 3:32 remaining in the game, Pacific defended their home court with a flury of offense. Over the next three minutes the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead. Senior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) keyed Pacific's effort with a clutch three-pointer to make it 65-63. Young followed with a fade-away bank shot to tie the game at 65-65 with 1:57 to go.

Two possessions later, sophomore Jasmine Dana (Bakersfield, Calif.) gave the Tigers the lead on two free throws with 30 seconds left.

Cal State Fullerton answered with one last gasp as Thomas grabbed an offensive rebound in the final seconds and came through with a lay up for to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, the Tigers jumped out in front on two free throws from junior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and never looked back. The Tigers scored the first six points in overtime and went on to grab the 76-72 win.

Young's 19 points led the Tigers, while VanHollebeck finished with 16 points and Lavender posted 13 points.

Thomas' 20 points led all scorers.

Pacific returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 16 as 'Pacific Plays Pink' the Tigers host UC Irvine at 4 p.m. in a special contest that will see the Tigers don special pink uniforms as part of special dedication to breast cancer awareness. The pink game jerseys will be auctioned off during the contest and given to the winners after the game.