SAN DIEGO – Graduate student Cecilia Holmberg tallied a career-high 20 points as Pacific cruised to a 75-48 win over San Diego on Thursday at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
It marked the first time the Bjarred, Sweden native scored this many points in her career. Holmberg was 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from the three-point line. She reached the 20th-point mark with a perfect 2-of-2 at the free-throw line with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. Holmberg also collected seven rebounds.
"We have talent in every player," she said. "We're not dependent on one player on this team, which is one of our biggest strengths. For me, I try not to think about points or how many shot attempts. Whoever gets the best shot, is the one taking the shots."
Three other Tigers also registered double digits in the scoring column. Junior Elizabeth Elliott finished with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Kadie Deaton posted 11 points and notched three steals to surpass the 100th career mark in the category. Junior Anaya James racked up 10 points and a team-high seven assists.
Pacific (11-7, 3-2 WCC) jumped out to a 6-0 start in the first quarter. A three from Holmberg and a layup and two free throws from Deaton put the Tigers up 13-6 with under five minutes left. Elliott and sophomore Sydney Ward combined for 4-of-6 at the charity while Holmberg scored another bucket that kept Pacific in front. The score was 19-12 in favor of the Tigers at the end of the first.
Pacific outscored San Diego (4-14, 0-5 WCC) 15-8 in the second quarter which would put it up by double digits for the remainder of the game.
The Tigers shot 29-of-55 (.527) from the field while the Toreros were 16-of-56 (.286). Pacific was also 6-of-10 (.600) from behind the arc and 11-of-15 (.733) at the charity stripe. In addition, the Tigers outscored the Toreros 44-26 in the paint and 26 points off 24 turnovers.
"Our Wednesday practice was a reflection of that (performance)," head coach Bradley Davis said. "We had a great practice and dialed in against their press, especially our starting group. They had some success there throughout the game. But I was even proud of our bench coming in. First time on the road with what San Diego does and how hard they play. I thought they settled in once we got going."
Up next, Pacific hosts Pepperdine for Powercat's birthday and Family Night at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Alex G. Spanos Center.
NOTES
-It marked the 35th meeting between Pacific and San Diego. The Tigers have now won 12 contests against the Toreros.
-Pacific is 8-2 when scoring 70 or more points and 7-0 when holding opponents to 50 and below.
-The Tigers are 5-1 when shooting 50 percent or more from the field. Pacific is currently ranked second behind Gonzaga in field goal percentage (.459) in the West Coast Conference.
-Holmberg led the Tigers in scoring for the second time in her career. She has registered in double figures nine times this season and 26 in her career.
-Elliott led in rebounding for the 25th time and posted double digit points for the 49th time in her career. She is currently the team leader with 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
-Deaton has scored in double figures and notched one or more triples in the last four games. She has recorded two or more steals in five contests this season, including a career-high five at Long Beach State on Dec. 16.
-James now has 35 career contests where she has produced double-digit scoring performances. She has also led in assists in 52 games since joining the Tigers.
-Pacific has been without senior
Liz Smith for the four games. She is currently second on the team with 13.9 points per game.
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