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University of the Pacific

Valerie Higgins
James Snook
67
Pacific UOP 11-6,4-2 WCC
68
Winner Gonzaga Gonz 16-1,5-0 WCC
Pacific UOP
11-6,4-2 WCC
67
Final
68
Gonzaga Gonz
16-1,5-0 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pacific UOP 22 10 18 17 67
Gonzaga Gonz 20 13 20 15 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Upset Bid Falls Short in Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. – It was a battle from the opening whistle, but Gonzaga (16-1, 5-0 WCC) outlasted Pacific (11-6, 4-2) in a 68-67 thriller Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 
 
First Half
  • Pacific got off to a fast start, going 6 of 11 from the field in the opening six minutes to hold a 16-11 lead with Lianna Tillman grabbing a team-high seven of those points. The Tigers outrebounded the Bulldogs 7-3 in the stretch.
  • Pacific led 22-20 after a quarter on a game-high nine points from Tillman on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Tillman led the Tigers in the opening half with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
  • The Tigers held a normally hot-shooting Bulldog team to just 14.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Second Half
  • Pacific answered the bell when called upon out of the second half gate, including a three up top from Kaylin Randhawa at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter to bring the Orange and Black within two.
  • Randhawa went on a streak of 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to pull Pacific to a 53-50 deficit at the end of the third quarter.
  • Gonzaga went on a run with Jenn Wirth hitting six of seven from the field to stretch a lead to 58-50.
  • Valerie Higgins muscled in a short-range jumper on a put back before trudging through the defense once more for an and-one, cutting Gonzaga's lead to 61-58. It was the first and second of three consecutive Pacific buckets scored by the USC transfer, before pickpocketing GU for her fifth steal of the day with Pacific leading 62-61 at the 2:33 mark of the fourth quarter.
  • Gonzaga hit a three with under two minutes to go to pull ahead 65-62 in front of an raucous McCarthey Athletic Center, then hit a clutch mid-range jumper at the :17.0 mark of the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 67-62 before sinking a key three throw in the last ten seconds for the win.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
  • Tillman notched a double-figure scoring performance for the second straight game, pouring in 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting with all 11 going in before the halftime break. 
  • Higgins logged her 15th multi-steal game of the season and fifth with at least four, ending with five to earn City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the Game honors. The Preseason All-WCC honoree also dropped a team-high 20 points on Gonzaga for the day on 6-of-7 shooting. Her 20 points made it three of six WCC contests this year scoring 20 or more. Her scoring efforts Saturday afternoon also came on a season-high 86.7 percent from the field. 
  • Pacific held the Bulldogs to their lowest three-point percentage of the season, yielding just 6 of 21 from downtown (.286).
UP NEXT: 
  • The Tigers will return home to the Alex G. Spanos Center to face BYU on Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. and San Diego on Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 p.m. The first 250 fans through the door on Thursday will receive a free pair of Powercat socks, and the first 250 in attendance on Saturday will receive a free pair of Pacific sunglasses.
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