STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team kicked off their 2019-20 season with an 80-44 victory over UC Merced in an exhibition Friday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Hitting their home floor for the first time this year, the Tigers returned three of their five leading scorers from the 2018-19 team in senior Jessica Blakeslee, redshirt junior Valerie Higgins, and junior Brooklyn McDavid. 
• Preparing for their WNIT matchup with University of Missouri-Kansas City, Pacific shot 46.4% from the field overall, making 32 of 69 against the Bobcats.
• Additionally, UOP was dominant in the paint, outscoring UC Merced 48-8 overall down low. Pacific also outscored their opponents by 39 points through the first three quarters, taking a 62-23 lead into the final frame.
• Furthermore, the Tigers were also was a force on the defensive end, racking up 20 points off of turnovers by the Bobcats.

 
Overall, the Tigers never trailed during the game as four different players scored in double digits in the victory.
 
WHAT COACH DAVIS SAID:
 
On the opportunity vs. UC Merced- "We got to see quite a bit of where we currently are. Credit to Merced… they had a good season last year, they run good plays and play hard all the way through, so you know that's what you're going to get. I think we were pleased with our depth, pleased with our ability to bring a number of players off the bench and not lose much in intensity, skill and talent. At the same time, we saw the things we need to work on going forward. I think the plus that we will see on film hopefully is that the things we need to work on are little things in order to be ready to come back next Friday.
 
On team identity- "We have a lot of returners, but we still have quite a new team in terms of pieces that we need to figure out and how they work well together. I do anticipate that the transfers that sat out last year and the freshmen coming in will learn quickly because of the experience we do have. I think that as a team, more than anything, is the fact that we will start to learn quickly as to who we really are and start to really form that identity on the court."
 
UP NEXT: The Tigers will officially begin the 2019-20 regular season next Friday, November 8 at 7:00 pm when they host University of Missouri-Kansas City in an opening round game of the Preseason WNIT. This season's field will include 2019 NCAA participants — Boise State, DePaul, Missouri State, Oregon State and Portland State as the event runs through Sunday, Nov. 17, when the champion will be crowned.
 
FOLLOW US: For more updates and more information on the 2019-20 Pacific women's basketball team, be sure to follow @Pacific_Hoops on Twitter, @pacificwbb on Instagram and @PacificWomensBasketball.