STOCKTON, Calif.—Pacific women's basketball (4-2) heads back out on the road to Arizona on Friday. The Tigers will compete in the Briann January Classic hosted by Arizona State. Pacific will play the host Sun Devils at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT on Friday followed by Temple at 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT on Saturday. Both matchups will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network.
The Tigers won two of their last three games. Both of Pacific's victories came against new opponents in Yale (66-59) and Butler (77-66). The Tigers came up short in a 66-60 loss during their recent game against UC Irvine.
Seniors
Liz Smith and
Kadie Deaton are leading Pacific with 14.0 points per game. Smith is also the team leader in free throws, having shot 33-of-38 from the charity stripe. She is third in the WCC in both free throws made (35th nationally) and attempted (68th nationally).
Smith and junior
Anaya James lead the Tigers with 29 total assists while averaging 4.8 per game. Both are ranked third and fourth in dish-outs per game (both 65th nationally) and fifth and sixth (both 90th nationally) in total assists in the league.
Holmberg is the team's leading rebounder with 6.2 per game. The Bjarred, Sweden native grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 12.
Pacific faces Arizona State for the second time and first meeting in a decade. The Tigers are 1-1 against the Sun Devils. Pacific's lone win came back on Mar. 16, 2012, at the Spanos Center during the first round of the WNIT Tournament. The Tigers defeated the Sun Devils on a score of 77-62 for their first win in the tournament.
Arizona State currently holds a 6-2 record on the season. The Sun Devils won their first four games at home and two out of their last three at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. Arizona State is led in scoring by Trayanna Crisp who is averaging 12.1 points per game.
Pacific will also face another new opponent in Temple. The Owls are 2-4 this year with their lone wins coming against Delaware State (109-43) and Bucknell (77-53). Temple recently fell against Saint Joseph's in its last contest, 67-65. Aleah Nelson leads the Owls with 10.7 points and 4.3 assists per game.
After the tournament, the Tigers will return to the Grand Canyon State to play Northern Arizona at 11 a.m. PT/12 p.m. MT on Wednesday.
