LAS VEGAS – Fifth seeded Pacific women's basketball makes its second consecutive trip to the West Coast Conference semifinals, facing the top seed of the tournament in No. 15 Gonzaga at noon on Monday at Orleans Arena.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Ann Schatz and Jennifer Mountain on the call. Don Gubbins and Zach Bayrouty will have the call on Fox Sports AM 1280.
It took Pacific (18-13, 8-8 WCC) perseverance and grit to return to the game they finished its season in a year ago.
The Tigers played a back-and-forth game against eighth seeded San Diego in the second round, coming out with a 72-66 victory. Graduate student
Cecilia Holmberg led with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Pacific then defeated fourth seeded San Francisco in the quarterfinals by a score of 76-71. Senior
Kadie Deaton paved the way with a team-leading 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior
Anaya James notched a double double of 14 points while matching her season-high 10 assists for the third time.
All five starters for the Tigers are averaging double figures. Junior
Elizabeth Elliott is leading the way with 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The Inglewood, Calif. native is second in the WCC (14
th nationally) with a .598 field goal percentage. Holmberg and senior
Liz Smith are averaging 12.3 and 12.2 points per game, respectively.
James is the team's assist leader with 5.9 per game while scoring 12.0 points per game. The Inglewood, Calif. native is tied for first in the league in both total assists (184) and dishouts per game (13
th nationally).
Deaton is notching 11.1 points per game while leading Pacific with 1.7 steals per game, which is sixth in the WCC.
In the last meeting, the Tigers had a 46-45 lead at halftime (26-21 in the first quarter) against the Bulldogs. But Gonzaga (29-2, 16-0 WCC) erased Pacific's lead to bring the game to a final score of 91-78. Five Tigers scored in double figures with Elliott leading with 14 points.
Yvonne Ejim is the Bulldogs' leader with 20.0 points. 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She leads the WCC in scoring and field goal percentage (.628). This season, Ejim was selected as the league's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She is also a finalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year and Katrina McClain Award.
NOTES
-This marks the 27
th meeting between Pacific and Gonzaga. The Tigers will look for their first win against the Bulldogs since 2016.
-Pacific is 15-2 when leading at the half and 14-7 when scoring 70 or more points.
-The Tigers are ranked in the top 100 in five statistical categories in the nation with its highest being 26
th in assists per game (17.1).
-Three Tigers are nationally ranked statistically. Elliott is 14th in field goal percentage (.598). James' assist average (5.9) and total dishouts (184) are 13th and assist/turnover ratio (2.22) is 38th. Smith is ranked 58th in free throw percentage (.846).
-Three Tigers reached 1,000 career points this season. Elliott and James earned the milestone in the final regular season game against Santa Clara (3/2). Smith clinched it
in the WCC quarterfinals win against San Francisco (3/9).
-Three Tigers earned a spot on WCC All-Conference on Tuesday. James was selected to All-Conference First Team while Elliott was named to All-Conference Second Team. Holmberg was chosen for Honorable Mention.
-If Pacific wins the semifinals, it will advance to its first WCC championship game in program history.
Stay Social
For all the latest on Pacific Women's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on X (
@Pacific_Hoops), Instagram (
@pacificwbb) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (
Pacific Women's Basketball).
#PacificProud
