Jan. 2, 2009
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Behind a career-best 21 points from sophomore Gretchen Tiernan (Roseville, Calif.), the Pacific women's basketball team took its Big West Conference season opener for the first time in three seasons, defeating Cal State Northridge 63-58 on Friday, January 2. The win moved the Tigers to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in conference while the Matadors fell to 3-11 on the season and 0-1 in the Big West.
Pacific is a perfect 7-0 at home in the Alex G. Spanos Center this season.
Bolstered by Tiernan's outside shooting, the Tigers were able to open up a double-digit first half lead, stifling an early start by the Matadors to post a 20-12 lead over the first 10 minutes of the game. Facing a zone defense, Tiernan fired away from deep, hitting four of her first six three-point attempts to pace Pacific's offense. From the outside, Tiernan accounted for 12 of Pacific's first 16 points while finishing the half with 15, tying her previous career high.
With Tiernan hitting from behind the arc, the Tigers were able to free up senior Amber Simmons (Chico, Calif.) in the post as the conference's leading scorer topped the 10 point barrier for the 12th time in as many games in the first half, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Twice in the half the Tigers held 10 point leads with their final lead being established with 1:58 to go in the half.
Up double digits at the break, the Tigers were in prime position to pick up their fourth consecutive victory. Pacific would stretch its lead to 16 points just three minutes into the half, holding a 40-24 advantage over the Matadors after Simmons hit from behind the arc for her first and only three-pointer of the contest.
Despite the big lead, Pacific was not able to put away Cal State Northridge in the second half as a pair of long scoring droughts enabled the Matadors to climb back into the game. Up 16 with 17:07 to play in the game, the Tigers went with out a point for over four minutes while watching their lead dwindle to single digits. During Pacific's drought, the Matadors used a 9-0 run to climb back within seven points of the Tigers. The Matadors' starting backcourt combined to do most of the damage during the run as Whitney Ligon and Tonicia Tedemy posted seven of the nine points, both from the field and the free-throw line.
Seeing their lead cut to single digits, the Tigers came around offensively over the next three minutes of the contest, pushing their lead back to 12 points at 47-35 with 9:06 to play in the game. Once again, Tiernan sparked the Tigers with a three-pointer while Simmons and senior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.) took advantage of their athleticism to get to the basket. Young's layup with 9:06 to play marked her first basket of the contest after missing her first five attempts.
However, once again, the Tigers found themselves out of rhythm offensively for a three minute span leading to another 9-0 run by the Matadors that cut the lead to just one possession at 49-46 with just under five minutes to play. With Cal State Northridge closing in, the Tigers snapped out of their offensive funk, pushing their lead back up to eight points with 2:29 to play, capped off by Tiernan's seventh three-pointer of the contest. Tiernan finished the night 7-of-14 from behind the arc to lead all scorers with 21 points.
Up eight, Pacific closed out the game from the free-throw line, holding off the Matadors late by hitting 8-of-9 from the line in the final minutes to come away with the five point win. A trouble spot for the Tigers throughout the season, Pacific hit 19-of-24 from the line while the Matadors finished 15-of-25 in the contest.
A rough game for both teams in the turnover department, there were a combined 43 turnovers in the contest. Despite their turnover woes, Pacific protected its home court by outrebounding its opponents 47-to-27 in the game, including grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. The Tigers were led by freshman Claire McLeod (Victoria, Australia) who grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. The freshman wing added three points, one assist and one steal to the Tigers' cause.
Behind Tiernan, who scored in double-figures for the third straight game, Simmons tallied 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a career-high five assists. Despite the slow start, Young finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds, taking advantage of her trips to the free-throw line as she hit 6-of-6 from the stripe.
The Matadors were led by Tedemy's 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Additionally, the Matador point guard dished out six assists and produced seven steals. Ligon added 15 points for Cal State Northridge while Bridgette Conejo tallied 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Pacific will be back in action on Sunday, January 4 as the Tigers travel to Moraga, Calif. to take on St. Mary's. The game is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
