STOCKTON, Calif.—Pacific women's basketball (2-1) has a big week ahead at Alex G. Spanos Center. The Tigers welcome Yale for their lone doubleheader of the season at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Later, Pacific will host its annual Tiger Turkey Tip-Off. The Tigers will play both its games at 3 p.m. against Butler on Friday and UC Irvine on Saturday.
 
Pacific is coming off its first loss of the season at Washington on Wednesday. The Tigers fell to the Huskies on a score of 81-64.  Junior Anaya James led the way with a season-high 16 points and eight rebounds along with a game-high five assists. Graduate student Cecilia Holmberg and senior Liz Smith both had 15 points each.
 
Smith is off to a great start this season since being named to the West Coast Conference All-Preseason Team. The Dallas, Texas native is leading Pacific with 17.3 points per game. Smith is also the team leader in free throws, having shot 24-of-28 from the charity stripe. She is second in the WCC in both free throws made (ninth nationally) and attempted (18th nationally). In addition, Smith leads the Tigers with 18 total assists while averaging 6.0 per game. In the league, her average is second (30th nationally) and total dish-outs are third (50th nationally).
 
Holmberg is second in scoring with 13.7 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder with 6.3 per game. The Bjarred, Sweden native grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 12.
 
Pacific meets two new opponents in Yale and Butler. In fact, the last time the Tigers played an Ivy League and Big East opponent was during the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
 
Pacific plays its first Ivy League opponent since 2017. The Tigers are 1-1 when playing Ivy League teams. Pacific's lone win came against Princeton in a 65-51 victory back on Dec. 27, 1996, at the Seattle Times Husky Classic. In its last meeting against an Ivy League opponent, the Tigers fell to Brown, 74-57, at the Spanos Center on Nov. 25, 2017.
 
Yale is 0-4 coming into the week having lost at Boston University (60-53) on Tuesday and Lehigh (90-75) on Friday. Jenna Clark leads the team with 16.3 points and 6.5 assists per game. Brenna McDonald and Nyla McGill are Yale's leaders in rebounds with 8.0 per game each. McDonald is also notching a team-leading 1.5 blocks per game.
 
Pacific plays its first Big East team since 2016 and is 1-5 against opponents in the league. The Tigers defeated Providence, 78-76, in overtime at the Bellarmine Prep Gym in San Jose on Nov. 24, 2000. Pacific's last meeting with a Big East opponent was against Marquette on Nov. 26, 2016, at the Spanos Center. The Golden Eagles won the game on a score of 89-75.
 
Butler is 2-1 to start the season. The Bulldogs picked up a 53-47 victory against Austin Peay on Saturday. Caroline Strande leads Butler in scoring with 16.3 points per game and had 21 points against the Governors. She also has a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game and is tied with Ari Wiggins for steals per game with an average of 1.3.
 
Pacific will see a familiar face in former conference opponent UC Irvine at this year's Tiger Turkey Tip-Off. The Tigers lead the all-time series against the Anteaters, 35-29. The previous meeting between the two teams was on Mar. 2, 2013, which was also during Pacific's last year playing in the Big West Conference. The Tigers defeated the Anteaters, 65-53, at Bren Events Center.
 
UC Irvine is currently 1-2 on the season. The Anteaters picked up their first win against Seattle, 74-43, on Saturday, Nov. 11. UC Irvine recently fell at Saint Mary's, 52-37, on Tuesday. Deja Lee leads the Anteaters with 15.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. Nevaeh Parkinson is second with 11.0 points per game and leads UC Irvine with 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
Next week, Pacific will travel to Tempe, Ariz. for the Briann January Classic. The Tigers play host team Arizona State at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT on Friday, Dec. 1 and Temple at 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT on Saturday, Dec. 2.
 
Fans can catch Pacific in 16 contests at the Alex G. Spanos Center this season. Single-game tickets can be purchased at this link. All women's basketball home games will be televised on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the Tigers on social media at @pacificwbb (Instagram) and @Pacific_Hoops (X).