STOCKTON, Calif. – Set to take the floor following the postponement of two games last week due to COVID-19 concerns, the Pacific women's basketball team (4-3, 2-2) will open a four game home stand this upcoming weekend when they welcome Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine to the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Aiming to climb back over .500 in conference play, the Tigers will aim to repeat their recent success against these two programs after Pacific went a combined 3-1 against the Lions and Waves in 2019-20.
GAME DETAILS:
Game One-
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021
Matchup: Loyola Marymount (4-7, 3-3) at Pacific (4-3, 2-2)
Location: Stockton, California
Venue: Alex G. Spanos Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Links: Watch |
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Live Stats
Game Two-
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021
Matchup: Pepperdine (3-4, 0-3) at Pacific (4-3, 2-2)
Location: Stockton, California
Venue: Alex G. Spanos Center
Time: 2:00 p.m. PST
Links: Watch |
Listen |
Live Stats
THINGS TO KNOW:
- After seeing road contests at San Diego and BYU postponed last week, the Tigers will aim to get back in the win column after dropping their previous contest to Santa Clara, 77-74, on Saturday, Jan. 9.
- Finding their groove, Pacific currently leads the WCC in scoring offense with an average of 72.14 points per game while also sitting first in free throw percentage with a .746 clip from the line.
- Redshirt senior Valerie Higgins continues to make her case for WCC Player of the Year as the versatile guard sits in the top five in the conference in steals (first), scoring (second), defensive rebounding (third), free throw percentage (third), minutes played (fourth) and rebounds per game (fourth).
- Adding fuel to the attack, All-WCC Preseason selection Brooklyn McDavid is continuing to shine early one, averaging 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds heading into Thursday. Additionally, senior Lianna Tillman (9.9 ppg) and sophomore Sam Ashby (9.1) each average over nine points respectively for the Tigers.
SCOUTING THE LIONS:
- LMU enters Thursday's contest fresh off a 53-50 home victory over Pepperdine last Saturday, Jan. 16. Heading into the matchup, the Lions sit one place above Pacific in the current WCC standings- sixth.
- With an advantage of just one game, LMU also currently holds the lead in the all-time series between the two programs, 8-7. However, the Tigers have won their last three over the Lions, including sweeping the season series in 2019-20.
- Individually, LMU is led offensively by Stockton native Ariel Johnson (11.4 ppg), Cierra Ellington (10.5 ppg) and Khari Clark (10.4). As a team, the Lions are stout on the defensive end as they currently lead the WCC in blocks per game (5.36) and are second in field goal percentage defense (.370).
SCOUTING THE WAVES:
- Overall, Pacific holds the 12-8 advantage in the all-time series over Pepperdine. Despite the Waves winning three of the last four, the two teams split the season series last year, with the Tigers winning at home, 64-63, on Jan. 4 and Pepperdine coming out victorious on Jan. 30 in Malibu, 59-54.
- Pepperdine returns three starters from last year's team. Helping to pace the offense, Malia Bambrick was the second-leading scorer in 2019-20, averaging 10.4 points per game and shooting 34.3 percent from three, good for second on the team as well.
- Monique Andriuolo also returns to Malibu, coming off a breakout year as a junior that saw her average 9.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.29 blocks per game, all while leading the Waves in shooting percentage (44 percent).
- Jayla Ruffus-Milner also had a stellar freshman campaign last season, being selected to the WCC's All-Freshman team after tallying averages of 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Additionally, she also had 26 steals, third-best on the team.
- Head coach Kristen Dowling enters her second season at the helm of the Waves. In her first year, she led the team to a 16-15 overall record, including an 8-10 mark in WCC play. Winning their first two games over Saint Mary's and BYU, the 2019-20 team reached the semifinal round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas before falling to tournament runner up San Diego.
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.
