STOCKTON, Calif. – Returning to the hardwood for the first time in ten days, the Pacific women's basketball team will open West Coast Conference play when they travel to Moraga to face Saint Mary's on Wednesday afternoon.
Following two thrilling victories in the Duel in the Desert tournament in Las Vegas, the Tigers will aim to push their winning streak to three, which would also be their third consecutive over the Gaels.
GAME DETAILS:
Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Matchup: Pacific (2-1) at Saint Mary's (2-4)
Location: Moraga, California
Venue: University Credit Union Pavilion
Time: 1:00 p.m. PST
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STARTING STRONG:
- In their three contests so far, Pacific has done their job in holding onto the basketball, limiting their total to just 38 turnovers, the lowest in the WCC and 38th nationally.
- Making an early case for WCC Player of the Year, senior Valerie Higgins is dominating her opponents yet again, leading the team in points per game (15.7), rebounds per game (7.7), steals (11) and blocks (2).
- Offensively, the Tigers have spread the wealth, with four different players averaging in double figures: Higgins (15.3), Brooklyn McDavid (13.7), Lianna Tillman (11.3) and Rosie Schweizer (11.0).
THINGS TO KNOW:
- Climbing the leaderboards, Higgins currently ranks fourth amongst active Division I women's basketball players with 255 career steals, which also places her fourth with a 2.77 steals per game average. Additionally, her mark of 3.67 per game so far in 2020-21 currently leads the WCC.
- Pouring it in from deep, Tillman also currently leads the conference in three-point percentage with a 53.3 percent clip from behind-the-arc. Good for 17th overall in the nation, the senior from Stockton has nailed 8-of-15 from three so far this year.
- As a team, the current record marks the third straight 2-1 start for the Tigers. It also is the third of five straight road games for Pacific, with UOP set to travel to Portland (Jan. 2) and Gonzaga (Jan. 4) in the upcoming week.
- Saint Mary's currently holds the advantage, 20-15, in the all-time series, but Pacific has the current momentum after sweeping the Gaels last season, including a thrilling 68-66 overtime victory in Moraga on Jan. 25.
SCOUTING THE GAELS:
- Saint Mary's played at home in Moraga for the first time before the Christmas holiday and turned in their best performance of the season as they took down Nevada, 83-68, last Monday, December 21.
- Fresh off her second WCC Freshman of the Week award, Finau Tonga continues to impress in the opening weeks of the season. After getting her first collegiate double-double against UC Irvine on Dec. 16, Tonga tallied her second against the Wolf Pack, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds, including the first seven points of the game. Matching her nearly point-for-point and rebound-for-rebound, Brianna Simonich also tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds for SMC, notching the first double-double of her Gaels career while dishing out five assists as well.
- Similar to the Tigers, Saint Mary's boasts four players averaging in double figures heading into Wednesday's matchup: Taycee Wedin (13.4), Madeline Holland (12.2), Tonga (12.0) and Jade Kirisome (10.7).
FOLLOW US:
For more updates and more information on the 2020-21 Pacific women's basketball team, be sure to follow @Pacific_Hoops on Twitter, @pacificwbb on Instagram and @PacificWomensBasketball on Facebook.
