STOCKTON, Calif. – Second time is the charm for the Tigers, as Pacific splits the season series with Santa Clara, getting the 74-69 home win. With Head Coach Bradley Davis out due to COVID protocols, associate Head Coach Amy Starr stepped up to lead the Tigers. 

"Starr does so much for us, on and off the court," said Smith. "We just wanted to get this win for her, this is a big deal, and we love her so much. We are so happy for her."  

The stars showed out for the Tigers, with four players reaching double-digit points. Mere hours after being named WCC Freshman of the Week, Elizabeth Elliott made good on that title, scoring a team-high 18 points while also grabbing six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Liz Smith continued her impressive streak, scoring 17 and bringing her 10+ point streak to six games. Anaya James did a little bit of everything, scoring 13 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Jordan Cruz hit her groove from deep, scoring 12 points, all from threes. 

"There were a couple of things that we did to adjust especially defensively," said acting Head Coach Amy Starr. "We just have talked a lot momentum and our defense being the backbone of what we do. We adjusted what we did on the ball screen, and we had to do a better job on VanAllen, which we did tonight. We had to rebound the ball better. Those three things combined helped us get the win tonight." 

A better start could not have been written for the Tigers. After winning the opening tip, the Tigers scored, James got a steal, and Smith hit a three, James got a second steal, and Smith hit a second three. The Tigers led 8-0 before you reached your seat. Elliott would go one for two on free throws with just under seven minutes remaining. It would be the only free throws the Tigers took until late in the fourth. With both teams scoring in bunches, the Broncos got within two points of the Tigers before Pacific pulled away to take a nine-point lead into the second quarter. 

The Tigers continued to lead, but not for lack of effort from the Broncos. Santa Clara continued to battle back into the game, the Tigers would take a 10-point lead, and the Broncos would whittle it back down to a single possession. It was a cat and mouse game where the Broncos could never quite catch the Tigers. The two teams traded leads in the fourth, with the gap never being more than two possessions. After a Lindsay VanAllen basket, the Tigers lead was cut to one. With 25 seconds left, Josephine Millard received the ball at the top of the arc, pump-faked one defender, cut into the paint, used a fake pass to get the other two Broncos and made the wide-open layup to increase the Tiger lead to three. All Pacific had left to do was hit their free throws, and that they did for the win. 

The Tigers travel north on Thursday to take on the number two team in the conference, Gonzaga. The game is on Thursday, Feb 3 at 6:00 pm.