STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team starts the 2022-23 regular season on Monday, Nov. 7, against UC Riverside. 

Head Coach Bradley Davis enters his eighth season with the program. Davis ranks sixth all-time in program history with 91 wins, bringing back 95% of his scoring from last season. The 2021-22 season story was close finishes, playing in six games, decided by five points or fewer. 

Sophomore guard Anaya James leads the returners for the Tigers. James was a seven-time WCC Freshman of the Week. After last season, she was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team and was named All-WCC Honorable Mention. She led the team in points per game, averaging 13.6, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. She scored in double figures 21 times during the regular season and tallied a career-high 31 points against Oregon State on November 22. She recorded a double-double on November 17 against CSU Bakersfield with 20 points and 10 assists and recorded her first career triple-double on January 31 against Santa Clara with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists

Sophomore center Elizabeth Elliott looks to build on her fantastic first season with the Tigers. Elliott was a three-time WCC Freshman of the Week selection. She was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team. She was second on the team in averages with 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She led the team in double-digit games with 23 and tallied a career-best 23 points against Saint Mary's on February 24. During the WCC Tournament opener against Santa Clara, Elliott had 15 points in 19 minutes. 

Senior Sam Ashby showed flashes of brilliance last season, scoring 31 points against UNLV on 7-8 from three. She will look to stay healthy this season as a sharpshooter for the Tigers. Junior Liz Smith was one of three Tigers to average double-digits in scoring last season and should continue to see the lion's share of minutes. 

Freshman Sydney Ward will look to continue the Pacific streak of fantastic freshmen. Ward received All-District and All-State Honors after winning the first State Championship for a Houston school in 30 years. She was named to the 6A All-Region team her freshman year as the district defensive MVP and the Vikings Team MVP. The Vikings went to back-to-back State Championship games in Ward's sophomore and junior years. 

Senior Kadie Deaton is a transfer who spent two seasons with North Dakota State and one season with Northern Colorado. In her final season with the Bison, Deaton logged 18.7 minutes per contest while averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. She shot 41.9 percent (36-86) from the field and 30.4 percent (7-23) from three, and reached double digits in scoring in four games.

UC Riverside was picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Poll. The Highlanders had a seven-game winning streak to end the 2021-22 season which vaulted them into the four seed in the Big West Tournament. Third-year Head Coach Nicole Powell leads a young squad with five freshmen and seven underclassmen. The Highlanders will look to replace the scoring of their top three scorers in an always competitive Big West Conference. 

Pacific had won four straight against UC Riverside until last season when the Highlanders rode 18 points from Olivia West in a 75-67 win. The Tigers have not lost at Riverside since the 2009-10 season, winning three straight.