Box Score Bakersfield, Calif. - Erin Butler scored 11 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacific women's basketball team opened the season with an 80-74 win at Bakersfield Friday
The Tigers snapped the 22-game home-court win streak of the WAC champion Roadrunners, as Pacific outscored Bakersfield 25-14 in the fourth quarter.
Butler scored eight points in the final 1:23 to highlight a balanced Pacific attack as 10 Tigers scored in the contest. GeAnna Luaulu-Summers led with a career-high 19 points and a career-high nine rebounds, and added five assists.
Hailie Eackles added 11 points with four assists, while Unique Coleman chipped in eight.
Butler also grabbed eight rebounds to go with her 17 points, on five made three-pointers.
Her three with 1:23 remaining tied the game at 72, and after the Tigers forced a turnover, Butler struck from the opposite baseline with a jumper for the lead. Bakersfield tied the game on the ensuing possession, but Butler struck again from deep, giving Pacific the lead for good.
The Tigers hit seven of their final eight shots, and their final four field goal attempts.
Luaulu-Summers opened the scoring with a jumper and added an and-one as the Tigers led 4-2. Mauriana Clayton finished after Queenland drew two defenders and dished off, but the Runners answered back with a three-pointer from Alyssa Shannon. Eackles added a drive to the rim in transition and then found Emily Simons underneath for a 13-12 lead. Desire Finnie drained a three from the wing and after an and-one from Emily Simons, Butler hit a three-pointer for a 21-14 Pacific lead. The Tigers took a 23-20 lead into the second quarter on a bucket from Unique Coleman.
Eackles and Bakersfield's Addi Walters traded three pointers early in the second. Ameela Li's first field goal was a three-pointer for a 33-27 lead. The Roadrunners rattled off seven-straight points, however, as Walters hit a three and a pair of free throws by Tylinn Carter gave Bakersfield a 34-33 lead. Luaulu-Summers and Coleman each added lay-ups as the Tigers restored the lead. Eli Lopez Sagrera added a free throw as Pacific led 42-38 at the half.
Ten different Tigers scored in the first half, led by Luaulu-Summers with nine and Eackles with seven. Pacific shot 39 percent in the first half (16-of-41) and forced 10 Bakersfield turnovers. But the Tigers connected on just 6-of-14 from the free throw line as Bakersfield remained with four.
Bakersfield scored the first six points of the second half, all by Shannon for a 44-42 lead. But Butler responded with a three-pointer. Pacific found themselves down 52-47 on a 14-5 run to open the quarter before Luaulu-Summers drove and finished with her right hand. Coleman fed Lopez Sagrera underneath for a lay-up which cut the Roadrunners lead to 52-51 and Pacific took the lead on a pair of Coleman free throws. Bakersfield surged back, however, on a three from Erika Williams and took a 60-55 lead into the fourth quarter.
Simons cut the lead to three on a slip to the rim, and after Butler knocked down a three from the corner, Queenland tied the game at 62-62 with 6:55 left. Luaulu-Summers answered a Batabe Zampare jumper with a three-pointer for a 65-64 lead. Zampara put the Roadrunners up two, before Eackles struck from deep. Eackles tied the game at 69-69 with a free throw, but Williams connected on a three for the Roadrunners with 1:35 left.
Butler responded with her fourth three-pointer of the game from the corner to the at 72-72, and the Tigers drew an offensive foul on the other end and Butler posted the turnaround jumper from the baseline. Zampare slipped to the basket and tie the game, but seconds later, Butler drilled another three from the corner for a 77-74 lead with 28 seconds left. The Tigers forced a turnover on the defensive end, and Luaulu-Summers hit a pair of free throws. The Pacific defense held strong and Luaulu-Summers stepped to the foul line to settle on the final margin.
Pacific improves to 1-0 on the year as Bradley Davis earned his first victory in his first game as the program's head coach
Bakersfield, who finished last season 23-9 and was tied with Tennessee for the fifth-longest home court win streak, falls to 0-1.
The Tigers are back in action on Monday at UC Davis, in game two of Pacific's season-opening six-game road trip.