Feb. 21, 2009

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Playing their final home contest of the 2008-09 season, the Tigers strong second half comeback fell just short of success as the visiting Mustangs were able to take away a 74-64 victory on Saturday, February 21 at the Spanos Center. The loss was just their second home loss of the year as the finished the year 12-2 at home. Overall Pacific fell to 14-12 overall and 8-6 in the Big West while the Mustangs improved to 17-8 overall and 9-4 in the conference.

The win gave the Mustangs the season sweep of the Tigers, returning the favor from a season when Pacific swept Cal Poly in the regular season. Additionally, the victory sealed third place in the conference for the Mustangs and with a UC Davis loss earlier in the day, the Tigers captured fourth place in the conference and a first round bye in the upcoming Big West tournament.

Coming off of one of their biggest wins in recent program history, the Tigers suffered a first half let down against the Mustangs on Saturday afternoon, falling behind early and behind big in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.  With a few cracks in Pacific's defense in the first half, the Mustangs exploited the Tigers' lapses shooting 46.9% (15-of-32) from the floor in the opening frame.

Leading by two nearly five minutes into the contest, the Tigers suffered through a three minutes scoreless drought that enabled Cal Poly to go on a 9-0 run that built their first substantial lead of the afternoon at 13-6.  Despite snapping the skid, the Tigers still struggled to find the rhythm that they played with two nights prior, as the Mustangs extended their run to 24-to-6 from the 15:21 mark in the half until the 5:31 mark, pushing their lead to its largest of the half, 28-12.

Despite the Mustangs controlling the game early, the Tigers did see the continued emergence of Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.) as the senior wing, in her final home game, posted eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the opening half.  Additionally, senior Amber Simmons (Chico, Calif.) got back into the flow of the offense after two sub-par games, netting 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play.  Simmons scored the last basket of the half for the Tigers, banking in a half-hook from the left side of the lane as time expired to bring the halftime deficit to 11 at 35-24.

Out of the break, the Mustangs came out firing against the Tigers, starting where they left off in the opening half by scoring eight unanswered points in the first two minutes of the half to take a commanding 19 point lead at 43-24.  However, unlike the first half the Tigers answered back behind a 12-4 run of their own, to bring the game back to within 11.  Pacific hit three consecutive threes during the run, knocking down their first shots from distance in the game after beginning the contest 0-for-6 from behind the arc.

Down 11, Pacific clawed its way back into the contest behind the stellar play of Young as she netted 12 of her career-high 28 points to bring the Tigers back to within five of the Mustangs at 57-52 with 6:01 o play in the game.  However, during the run, Young picked up a pair of fouls that gave her four for the contest forcing her out of the game for a few minutes.  With Young out, the Mustangs again pushed their lead to 11 points over the next two minutes causing the Tigers to scramble back into the game with another comeback effort.

Up to the test, Young reentered the game for the Tigers netting a jumper in the lane and a three-pointer from the corner to bring the Tigers back to with six.  However, with Pacific pressing to recapture the lead, the Tigers suffered a double setback as a technical foul was assessed to the Tiger bench and after the free-throws and on the ensuing play, Young was whistled for an off ball foul that took her out of the game and with her the momentum of the comeback.

With Young again out of the contest, the Mustangs were able to close out their 17th win of the year from the free-throw line, eventually sealing the final victory at 74-64.

Overall, Young finished the day with career-highs in both points and rebounds as the senior posted 28 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out.  The double-double was her sixth of the season while the 28 points was her second consecutive 20+ point effort of the week.  Simmons, who had 10 in the first half, finished the game with 16 while also grabbing nine rebounds.  Overall, the Tigers outrebounded the Mustangs 39-to-32.

Offensively for the Mustangs, Lisa McBride and Megan Harrison led the was with 19 points each while Harrison finished with a team-high nine rebounds.  Kristina Santiago, the Mustangs' leading scorer entering the game, posted 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting.  For the game, the Mustangs shot lights out hitting 49.0% (24-of-49) from the floor while finishing even better from distance hitting 53.3% (8-of-15) including posting a 5-for-5 effort in the second half.

Pacific welcomed into the Spanos Center a record 1917 fans to see the Tigers' final home game of the season.  Additionally, Pacific raised money during the contest for breast health awareness as the Tigers joined up with St. Joseph's Medical Center for their second annual "Pacific Plays Pink" game.

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, February 28, when they travel to UC Davis to take on the Aggies at 7:00 pm.