Nov. 15, 2009

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Behind junior Jennifer Fath's (Carrollton, Texas) team-leading 20 points, the Pacific women's basketball team fell 91-79 to Montana State.

With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 0-1 on the year, while the Bobcats improved to 2-0.

Out of the gate Pacific scored first off of a quick lay-up from sophomore Andrea Swanson (Littleton, Colo.) only eight seconds into the game, after the Tigers won the tip-off. Defensively, Pacific allowed only one jumper from Katie Bussey at 18:28 before jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead after an 8-0 run after the first three minutes of the half.

Both sides swapped lead changes until Montana State hit the 20-point mark first at 10:17 with the Tigers not far behind at 21-13. Pacific's next move came with 9:38 remaining in the half as senior Emma Head (San Diego, Calif.) took advantage of a foul from Rachel Semansky and drained a free throw that cut the Bobcats' deficit at 22-14.

Junior Jennifer Fath did her part to keep the Tigers within reach of Montana State after dumping in a hook-shot lay-up following the missed free throw that move Pacific within six at 22-16. After the Bobcats tallied two more free throws to jump out to a 24-16 lead, lay-ups from Head and Fath helped chip away at Montana State's lead with the score at 24-20 in favor of the Bobcats.

After one scoreless minute, junior Gretchen Tiernan (Roseville, Calif.) posted her first three-pointer in the game to put the Tigers within one at 24-23. From there, the Tigers stuck neck-and-neck with the Bobcats until another lay-up from Fath knotted the score at 31-31. Two quick offensive charges put Pacific up 34-33 until a pair of free throws by Erica Perry brought Montana State back out on top with less than four minutes remaining in the half. Not wanting to let the game slip out of their fingers early on, Head chipped in two free throws to match, as Pacific emerged out on top again 36-35 at 3:15.

The Bobcats were able to secure a five-point cushion in the half's final two minutes when Ally Schmitt knocked one down from behind the three-point arc to push Montana State up 41-36. From there, the Bobcats limited the Tigers to only one more shot, as they used a 5-2 run to lead at the end of the first half, 46-40.

After half time, Bussey came out firing, when she drained a three to give the Bobcats a 49-40 lead that the Tigers were never able to overcome throughout the remainder of the game. Fath was awarded two free shots after a foul by Jamie Thornton at 18:47 which she converted to cut the Tigers' deficit to 49-42. But Montana State continued to build upon its lead at 14:34 when Bussey shut down Pacific's rhythm with a three-pointer to widen the gap 61-49.

The Tigers had no response to Bussey who finished as the leading scorer on the night with 30 points in the game. Perry was not far behind her teammate with the second most points among all players at 28.

With under 14 minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Eliza Dy (Chino Hills, Calif.) attempted to get Pacific back on the right scoring track, when her lay-up at 13:42 put the Tigers within 10 points, trailing 61-51. However, the lead proved to be too much for the Tigers, despite a four-minute drought in which Montana State failed to score beginning at 10:10 up until the final six minutes of the half.

However, the Tigers were not without chances, as it was Montana State who finally broke through the scoreless drought at 6:49 when Perry drained a jumper to keep the Bobcats out in front, 67-59. Over the next three minutes, Montana State sealed the deal when they went on a lopsided 23-5 run that put the Bobcats ahead 82-62 with 3:47 to play in the game. Offensively, Montana State held the Tigers to a seven-minute stretch that saw Pacific score only six points.

Despite the Tigers' last charge off of fast-break opportunities in the final minutes, the damage had already been done. Montana State capitalized on free chances off of three Tiger fouls in the last two minutes of the game.

Pacific next returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when they host Southern Utah at 7 p.m.