STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific women's basketball is back home to host Portland for Black History Recognition and Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Don Gubbins and Celeste Gehring on the call.
Pacific (13-10, 5-5 WCC) looks to break a three-game losing streak and split the season series with Portland (17-8, 9-2 WCC).
The Tigers are currently 9-3 when playing at the Spanos Center. Pacific's .750 winning percentage at home is the best since the 2012-13 season.
The Tigers also hold the second-best scoring offense in the West Coast Conference, averaging 71.0 points per game. Pacific is also shooting a second conference ranked .448 from the field.
Junior
Elizabeth Elliott leads the Tigers with 14.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Inglewood, Calif. native has scored in double figures in 18 games this season with four of them being 20+ point performances.
Four Pacific players are also averaging double digits in scoring. Senior
Liz Smith is second for the Tigers with 12.8 points per game. Junior
Anaya James is averaging 11.9 points per game while graduate student
Cecilia Holmberg is notching 11.5 per game. Senior
Kadie Deaton is registering 10.7 points per game.
James is also Pacific's leader and second in the WCC with 5.4 assists per game. Deaton leads the Tigers and is fifth in the league with 1.7 steals per game.
In the last meeting, Pacific came up short against Portland by a score of 85-72. Elliott racked up her fourth 20+ point performance of the season finishing with 22. James had 12 points while Smith and Deaton registered 10 apiece.
The Pilots are currently in second in the WCC standings. Portland leads the league in holding opponents from the field (.383) and three-point line (.272). In addition, the Pilots are first in blocked shots (6.0 per game) and steals (11.4 per game).
Emme Shearer leads Portland with 12.2 points and 2.4 steals per game. Lucy Cochrane is the Pilots' and the WCC leader in blocked shots with 3.3 per game. She is currently on the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year watch list.
Following Thursday's game, Pacific will host No. 17 Gonzaga for Youth Basketball Day and Orange Out at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
NOTES
-This marks the 32nd meeting between Pacific and Portland. The Tigers will look for their first win against the Pilots since 2022.
-Pacific is 12-1 when leading at halftime. The Tigers are also 9-4 when scoring 70 or more points and 9-0 when holding opponents 50 or below.
-Pacific is ranked in the top 100 in the country in five statistical categories, with their highest being 31st in assists per game (17.0). Two players are nationally ranked individually. Junior
Elizabeth Elliott is 17th in field goal percentage (.593). Junior
Anaya James is 26th in assists per game (5.4), 31st in total dishouts (124) and 79th in assist/turnover ratio (1.9).
-Three Tigers are close to reaching 1,000 points in their career: James (934), Elliott (924),
Liz Smith (914).
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