Jan. 22, 2009
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Despite a strong start to the contest, the Pacific women's basketball team could not come away with a road win at Cal Poly on Thursday, January 22, falling to the Mustangs 68-58. The loss dropped the Tigers to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in Big West play while the Mustangs improved to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
From the start the Tigers appeared as if they would put their road woes behind them, jumping out to an early lead while holding the Mustangs in check offensively. Through the first 12 minutes of the game the Tigers held the momentum, outscoring Cal Poly 21-12 to take a nine point lead. However, a rash of turnovers and tough bounces cost Pacific its lead as the Mustangs mounted a comeback over the final eight minutes of the half.
Behind a 13-2 run, the Mustangs took their first lead of the contest, 25-23, with 1:36 to play, showing signs of what was in store for the Tigers in the second half. Pacific scored just once more in the half, knotting the game at 25-25 heading into the halftime break. Brittany Asplund led the way during the Mustangs' comeback, netting five of the 13 points. Four different Mustangs scored during the run.
Senior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the lone bright spot for the Tigers in the first half, hitting all three of her shots from the floor to end the half with seven points in just six minutes of action. Dawkins added one free-throw to go along with her three shots from the field.
Out of the break, the Tigers never could recover from the let down in the first half as the Mustangs slowly built their lead up to seven points just five minutes into the half. The Tigers would close within a single possession twice in the half, trailing by two with 10:11 to play and again within three with 8:14 to play, but the Mustangs would not be denied on their home court, using their second 13-2 run of the game over the next five minutes to push their lead to 14, 56-42, with just over three to play.
The Tigers attempted a comeback in the final minutes of the game, but the effort was too late as the Mustangs held on for the 10 point lead. Senior Amy VanHollebeke (Carlsbad, Calif.) dropped in eight points in the final minute to lead Pacific's attempt at climbing back into the game, but her efforts came up short.. Sophomore Gretchen Tiernan (Roseville, Calif.), finished the game with a team-high 14 point, knocking down 11 in the final six minutes of the game.
The Mustangs were led by Kristina Santiago and Lisa McBride each posted 17 points, with the duo combining for 27 second half points. McBride scored all 17 of her points in the final 20 minutes of action.
Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, January 24, at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif. as the Tigers take on the Big West's top team in the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara. Tip-off is 2:00 pm.
