STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team (8–13, 3–8) ended a nine-game skid against BYU (12–10, 7–4) in a convincing 79-66 win to end the four-game homestand for the Tigers.
"The team did a great job rallying together," Head Coach
Bradley Davis said. "It is just a good team win, coaches and players alike. It was great."
Junior
Liz Smith led the team in scoring, putting up 21 points for her fourth 20+ point game this season. Senior
Sam Ashby added 19 points and seven rebounds while leading the team in steals with four. Redshirt Junior
Rosie Schweizer hit double figures for her third straight game, scoring 11 points. Junior
Cecilia Holmberg and Ashby led the team in rebounding with seven, and both picked up a block.
"It is nice, and it is tough," said Davis on the changes to the starting lineup. "We can go on a roll with one lineup and one rotation, and then it becomes stagnant. For me, it is a reminder that we have a great deep bench, and we have got to continue to put them out there. For the whole team to get that kind of team win and know that they can trust each other and have faith in one another is just huge."
The scoring started early for both teams, an early run for BYU gave them a six-point lead with just under six minutes remaining in the first. However, Pacific continued to chip away in the quarter, going on an 11-8 run led by Holmberg, scoring five to bring the two squads even at the end of the quarter.
Smith had her most impressive quarter of the game in the second, scoring 10 points as she scored the first points of the quarter to break the tie. The Tigers did not trail in the second quarter, outscoring the Cougars 21-14. Pacific forced five Cougar turnovers which led to an extra six shots. Attacking the paint, the Tigers took seven free throws while keeping the Cougars away from the charity stripe.
The third quarter was all Ashby. The senior scored 11 of the Tiger's 17 points in the quarter and hit three shots from beyond the arc. With just one quarter to go, the Tigers held a nine-point lead.
The Tigers did not trail for the final 29:45 of the game, holding the lead for the entire second half. Two days after shooting 54.8% from the free throw line, Pacific sank 12-13 free throws in the fourth quarter alone to help seal the win.
Pacific is on the road next week, traveling to Pepperdine and LMU.
