Box Score
SALEM – It had to be a positive omen for Pacific that Sophie Wilson was not able to play last night due to an ankle injury. The Willamette junior hit the game-winning three at the buzzer that sent Pacific to a 58-57 loss to the Bearcats the last time they visited Salem.
Last night, the Boxers made sure that any buzzer-beating shots would have no effect on the outcome of the game.
Erica Schultz scored 23 points and
Brittney Anderson notched her first double-double in over a year with 12 points and 10 rebounds as Pacific defeated Willamette 72-52 Friday night at Cone Field House.
The Boxers ran their season record to 9-2, continuing their best start to a season since 1990-91. Now 2-1 in the Northwest Conference, Pacific will face its sternest test when undefeated and No. 3-ranked George Fox visits the Stoller Center on Saturday night.
Schultz tied the game at 18-18 with a pair of free throws, then gave Pacific the lead for good with a rebound putback of Anderson's missed free throw with eight minutes left in the first half. It turned out to be a four-point play as Anderson had been fouled on a putback basket.
Later in the half,
Nani Ostrom drained a 3-pointer and followed with a fast break layin to cap a 10-1 Pacific run for a 35-24 lead. Down 36-26 at halftime, the Bearcats would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
The Boxers have thrived this season by forcing turnovers while taking good care of the basketball and Friday night's performance was no different. Pacific forced 20 Willamette turnovers leading to 15 points. Thirteen of those points came in the first half, when the Boxers forced 13 Bearcat turnovers while only giving up the ball three times themselves.
Schultz had her second straight all-around dominant game, adding seven rebounds, four steals and two assists without a turnover. Anderson aggressively attacked the basket all night, hitting 6 of 13 from the field, while helping a defensive effort that limited Willamette's Kaileigh Westermann, an 11.3 point per game scorer in 2010-11, to just four points.
Freshman point guard JoJo DeLong led the Bearcats with 13 points, while sophomore MacKenzie Lamson, Willamette's leading scorer on the season at 11.7 points per game, scored eight points before fouling out with over nine minutes remaining in the contest.
Pacific limited Willamette to 31 percent shooting (19-61) for the game, while connecting on 39 percent of its shots (26-66), including 4 for 11 from 3-point range (4-11). The Boxers relentlessly attacked the basket on offense, resulting in a 16 for 22 effort (72.7%) at the free throw line, their second most attempts and makes of the season. Schultz led the way, hitting 9 of 10 at the line.
Paige Jensen overcame early foul trouble to score 10 of her 12 points in the second half, including a perfect 4 for 4 at the charity stripe.
George Fox won Tuesday's clash of nationally-ranked teams, overcoming a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat No.10-ranked Lewis & Clark 68-63 in Portland, improving their season record to a perfect 12-0.
The Boxers and Bruins are set to tip off at 6:00 p.m. at the Stoller Center Saturday night. All of Pacific's remaining women's and men's basketball doubleheaders will be webcast live on
www.goboxers.com with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m.
