STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific women's basketball is back on the road as it heads to the Pacific Northwest for its first meetings of the season with Portland and Gonzaga.
 
Pacific (13-7, 5-2 WCC) plays Portland (13-8, 5-2 WCC) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Chiles Center. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Jennifer Mountain and Ann Schatz on the call.
 
The Tigers face Gonzaga (20-2, 7-0 WCC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The contest will be featured on ESPN+ and SWX-TV with Greg Heister and Stephanie Hawk-Freeman on the call.
 
Pacific is currently riding a three-game winning streak and won its last game against Saint Mary's by a score of 60-45 on Thursday. Junior Elizabeth Elliott led the Tigers with 19 points while graduate student Cecilia Holmberg had 15.
 

3??-game winning streak??#PacificProud | #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/uRZr44Ut1i

— Pacific Women's Hoops (@Pacific_Hoops) January 26, 2024

 
Elliott leads Pacific in scoring with 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The Inglewood, Calif. native has led in scoring five times and in boards six times this season. Elliott has registered three double doubles this year with her two most recently taking place against Arizona State and Temple during the Briann January Classic. Elliott is currently second behind Gonzaga's Yvonne Ejim in field goal percentage (.613) and fifth in points per game in the West Coast Conference.
 
Junior Anaya James is averaging 11.9 points per game and leads the Tigers with 5.8 assists per game. The Inglewood, Calif. native has led in dish outs in 14 games, including the last four. James currently ranks second behind Gonzaga's Kaylynne Truong in the WCC in this category.
 
Holmberg is notching 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. The Bjarred, Sweden native has recorded 11 double-digit scoring performances with two of them being 20 or more points.
 
Senior Kadie Deaton is fourth in the conference with 1.8 steals per game. The Wausau, Wis. native is also posting 11.1 points per game.
 
Pacific and Portland are currently in a tie for second play in the WCC standings. Both teams have a 5-2 record in league play.
 
The Tigers (.391) are ranked in the top two behind the Pilots (.389) in holding opponents from the field.
 
Pacific faced Portland during the WCC tournament semifinals in 2023, coming up short by a score of 75-72. Portland went on to win the league title.
 
In addition to winning the championship a season ago, the Pilots also earned the title in 1994 and 2020. Portland has made the NCAA Tournament five times.
 
Maisie Burnham (11.8 ppg) and Emme Shearer (11.6 ppg) are two of the Pilots top two leading scorers. Shearer also leads with 2.1 steals per game. Lucy Cochrane is averaging a team-leading 7.1 rebounds and is the WCC leader in blocks per game with 3.4. Dyani Ananiev, a five-time conference freshmen of the week, is posting 7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
 
Gonzaga is at the top of the WCC standings with an undefeated 7-0. The Zags are currently ranked 19th in the country.
 
Gonzaga leads the WCC in seven statistical categories. The Tigers are ranked in the top two behind the Zags in points per game (72.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.459).
 
Gonzaga has won the WCC title 10 times and has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Zags are led by Ejim who is the WCC's leading scorer with 20.5 points per game. She recently received her fifth conference player of the week honor. Ejim is currently on the Wade Trophy and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list.
 
Up next, Pacific travels to San Francisco for a rematch game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10.
 
NOTES
- Pacific currently stands in a tie for second in the WCC standings. The last time the Tigers finished the season as a top three team in the league was during the 2014-15 season.  
 
-In the WCC, Pacific is ranked second in points (72.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.459) and assists (18.0 apg). The Tigers are also third in three-pointer (.341) and free throw percentage (.762).
 
-Pacific meets Portland for the 31st time. The Tigers hold a 16-14 edge in the all-time series and will look for their first victory against the Pilots since 2022.
 
-Pacific faces Gonzaga for the 25th meeting. The Tigers have won three contests against the Zags and will look for their first win in the all-time series since 2016.
 
-Pacific is 12-1 when leading at halftime and 9-0 when holding opponents to 50 points or below.
 
-Pacific is ranked in the top 100 nationally in six statistical categories with its highest being 21st in assists per game (18.0).
 
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