Feb. 23, 2008
Box Score
San Luis Obispo, Calif. - A career-high 26 points from junior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.) catapulted the Pacific women's basketball team to a 75-69 overtime victory against Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The win lifted Pacific to 12-15 on the season and 7-7 in Big West Conference play. Cal Poly, meanwhile, fell to 9-17 overall and 6-7 in conference play.
If one word could describe the Pacific women's basketball team, that word would be clutch. With fourth place on the line, and a first round by in the Big West Tournament within reach, the team stepped up their game, and came up with their biggest score of the year, an overtime victory over Cal Poly.
The Tigers came out strong out of the gate, and struck first behind a good look down low in the paint from sophomore Emma Head (San Diego, Calif.). With contributions from inside the lane, as well as two free throws by senior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Pacific shot out to an early 10-5 lead with 14:55 left to play.
Cal Poly tied things up with five straight points, but the Tigers had no trouble answering the Mustangs, as Young and redshirt junior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) combined for six of the next eight points to give Pacific an 18-10 lead midway through the half.
The teams battled back and forth for several minutes, answering jump shot for jump shot, and free throw for free throw, until the teams found themselves locked into a 26-26 tie behind a layup by Cal Poly's Lisa McBride with 3:37 left to play in the half. Moments later, Cal Poly took their first lead of the half on a layup from Rebecca Trotter, to go up 28-26 with just under three minutes remaining.
Not to be outdone, Young drained a two-pointer to even the score and continue the fight. A free throw and a jumper by Toni Newman gave the Mustangs a three point edge, 31-28, with 1:46 to go in the half. Once again, Young came to the rescue for the Tigers and hit a jumper to bring the score within one, 31-30. Cal Poly got a jumper from Megan Harrison to take a 33-30 lead into the half.
The Tigers shot 44.0% from the field for the half, and were perfect from the charity stripe, going eight for eight. Young led Pacific with 10 points, going 5-8 from the field.
The intensity from the first half of play did not lose a step when the second half began. Both teams were hitting shots, and the battle of attrition between the two teams was on. With the score 41-39, in favor of Cal Poly, the Tigers got a huge momentum push behind a three pointer, the team's first of the game, from Lavender.
Again, the teams traded offensive blows, and Pacific found themselves trailing, 48-43. In similar fashion to the first half, Young answered the call for the Tigers and buried a three pointer from the wing to bring the Tigers within two, 48-46. It was here where the Tigers' luck started to change. Cal Poly mounted a 10-2 scoring run fueled by two consecutive jumpers from senior Sparkle Anderson, to take a 10 point lead over Pacific, 58-48 with 6:17 left to play.
After several defensive stops, including steals by sophomore Jasmine Dana (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Lavender, Young once again rose from the ashes to drill another three pointer and ignite a spark in the Tigers' offense. Freshman Jennifer Fath (Carroliton, Texas) hit two free throws, and Lavender drilled another three pointer to make the score 58-56 in favor of Cal Poly with 3:36 left to play. A free throw by Cal Poly's Newman made it a three-point spread, and Pacific's Young again hit a layup to bring the Tigers within one at 59-58 with 2:56 to play.
Head made a layup off of a Fath pass to reclaim the lead for Pacific, 60-59 with 2:23 remaining in regulation. A Cal Poly free throw tied up the score, then Dawkins made the biggest play of the night for the Tigers, hitting consecutive free throws that gave Pacific a two point lead with 1:46 to play. Newman made a layup for the Mustangs to tie the score yet again, and again Young answered for the Tigers by nailing a three pointer with 0:59 left to take a three point lead, 65-62.
Cal Poly got to the line twice more before the end of regulation and hit three free throws to tie the score up at 65-65, and send the excitement into overtime. Pacific's outside shooting came to life this half, as the Tigers shot an overwhelming 42.9% form long range during the half. Young again was the leading scorer for Pacific with 14-second half points.
Overtime started off slow for the Tigers, as the team missed shots early and struggled to stop the offensive attack launched by the Mustangs. With 2:54 left to play, the Tigers found themselves trailing by three, 69-66. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. Fath hit two free throws to bring Pacific within one, 69-68. Dawkins came up big with a steal and then Lavender again found the bottom of the net to give the Tigers the 70-69 lead. Young, not wanting to break her routine from the rest of the game, made what could be described as the biggest play of the night for the Tigers. Young came up with a steal on the defensive end and took it coast-to-coast to finish with a layup which gave Pacific 72-69. Cal Poly was forced to foul, and Dawkins again hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game, 74-69. A final free throw by junior Whitney Price (Las Vegas, Nev.) sealed the deal for Pacific, giving them a 75-69 victory in cinematic like fashion.
The Tigers were led by Young's 26 points, including four three-pointers. Lavender also posted 12 for the Tigers while Head and Fath kicked in 11 and 10 as well.
Cal Poly was led by Harrison who scored 14 points for the Mustangs.
The Tigers' victory moved Pacific into sole possession of fourth place in the Big West Conference, which if the season ended today would give Pacific a bye in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament.
Pacific returns to the court on Saturday, March 1 as the Tigers host UC Davis at 4 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
