STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific women's basketball came together to pull off the 80-74 upset against the West Coast Conference second-ranked Portland on Thursday at Alex G. Spanos Center.
Pacific (14-10, 6-5 WCC) snapped its three-game losing streak and improved to 10-3 at home this season.
Graduate student
Cecilia Holmberg led the way with a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds. Senior
Liz Smith had 17 points and six boards while junior
Anaya James finished with 15 points, seven assists and three steals.
"I'm happy that we were able to reestablish ourselves as a defensive team and as a team who can compete in the top of the conference," Holmberg said. "I'm just super happy we were able to do that tonight just for ourselves and just to have that confidence going forward. Knowing that we can compete with anybody in the conference."
The Tigers were down 11-3 at the 4:53 mark in the first quarter. James drained a three that sparked a 12-4 run. Smith tied the game on a triple with 50 seconds left. But the Pilots made 1-of-2 from the free throw line for the 16-15 edge at the end of the first.
In the start of the second quarter, Holmberg and James brought the Tigers within one. Pacific rallied at the 8:32 mark as it scored 15 of its next 18 points from the three-point line. As a result, the Tigers had the 37-33 advantage with under three minutes to go in the first half.
While Portland continued to inch closer, Smith and sophomore
Lauren Glazier combined for Pacific's final six second quarter points for the 43-40 halftime lead.
Holmberg got the start of the second half going with six unanswered points, 49-40. The Tigers took their largest lead of 53-42 while holding the Pilots to just one field goal in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Portland responded with back-to-back baskets to trim Pacific's deficit to single digits. A second chance layup from redshirt senior
Rosie Schweizer and three-of-four at the charity stripe from Smith kept the Tigers up 58-54 going into the fourth.
With 3:59 left in the fourth, the Pilots notched two consecutive threes to tie the game at 68-all. Junior
Elizabeth Elliott and James registered back-to-back layups to help Pacific climb back up 72-68. Portland contributed a layup and two free throws to inch within one. James found Holmberg on the right arc for a much needed three at the 1:11 mark, 75-72. The Tigers wrapped it up with a perfect two-of-two at the charity stripe from James and senior
Kadie Deaton.
Pacific was 28-of-57 (.491) from the field, 9-of-15 (.600) at the three-point line and 15-of-20 (.750) from the free throw line. Portland (17-9, 9-3 WCC) was 27-of-62 (.435) overall, 9-of-21 (.429) from behind the arc and 11-of-16 (.688) at the charity stripe.
The Tigers scored 33 of their points off 25 turnovers committed by the Pilots.
"The three ball went down in that first half which gave us some energy," head coach
Bradley Davis said. "Our defensive effort coming out of the third quarter kept us in it when the shots weren't going for us. We had a little bit of everything today and we needed it."
Up next, Pacific welcomes No. 17 Gonzaga for Youth Basketball Day and Orange Out at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
NOTES
-It marked the 32
nd meeting between Pacific and Portland. The Tigers now hold a 17-15 edge in the all-time series and have won their first game against the Pilots since 2022.
-Pacific earned its 10
th victory of the season at the Spanos Center. The Tigers have not won this many games at home since the 2017-18 season. Pacific's winning percentage (.769) at the Spanos Center is the best since the 2012-13 season.
-With 25 points, Holmberg registered the third 20+ point performance of her career. The Bjarred, Sweden native had 20 or more points at San Diego (Jan. 18) and against Pepperdine (Jan. 20) this season.
-Three Tigers are close to reaching 1,000 career points:
Anaya James (949),
Liz Smith (931),
Elizabeth Elliott (930).
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