Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook

Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook

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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT WHITMAN
Game No. 17/Away Game No. 6
Fri., Jan. 31, 6 p.m., Sherwood Center, Walla Walla, Wash.
Live Stats & Video | Live Audio

PACIFIC AT WHITWORTH
Game No. 18/Away Game No. 7
Sat., Feb. 1, 4 p.m, Whitworth Fieldhouse, Spokane, Wash.
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

BOXERS ENTER SECOND HALF OF NWC SEASON WITH MOMENTUM
After picking up their first Northwest Conference victory of the season over Linfield on Saturday night, the Pacific women's basketball team enters the second half of the league schedule with a bit of momentum.  The Boxers will need that momentum to carry forward as they head to eastern Washington to take on two of the league's hottest teams: Whitman and Whitworth.

BOXER BYTES
• Pacific's "Olivia" tandem of Olivia Cook and Olivia Mayorga-Overtone combined for half of Pacific's points against Puget Sound on Friday, but the two could not carry the offense in a 76-60 loss to the Loggers.  Cook led all scorers with 16 points while Mayorga-Overtone scored 14 points.

• On Saturday, the Boxers rode the explosive 25-point performance of Sarah Curl to their first NWC victory of the season, 87-69, over Linfield.  Pacific established season bests by shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three-point range.

• Sarah Curl improved her scoring average by over a point per game with her weekend performances.  She enters the week as the Boxers' third leading scorer, averaging 9.6 points per game.

• Pacific continues to be one of the top free throw shooting programs in the conference.  The Boxers rank third with a .724 free throw percentage while Olivia Mayorga-Overtone and Olivia Cook rank among the NWC individual top-10 in free throw shooting.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WHITMAN
The Missionaries enter the week as one of the top teams in nation with an unblemished 18-0 record and 8-0 mark.  They are ranked third in the latest D3Hoops.com Women's Top-25 Poll.  Whitman continued its march with two more wins last week.  On Tuesday, the Missionaries held off up-state rival Whitworth 62-57.  The game proved close until Alyssa Ketner's free throw with 49 seconds left broke a 57-57 tie as the Missionaries outscored the Pirates 7-0 in the final two minutes.  Heather Johns led Whitman with 20 points.  Whitman had an easier time with Lewis & Clark on Friday, cruising to a 78-61 victory.  The Missionaries shot 49.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pioneers 45-34.  Tiffani Traver led five Whitman players scoring in double figures with 17 points.  Sarah Anderegg added 16 points.  Johns leads the Whitman offense and the NWC with an average of 18.8 points per game.  Anderegg is fourth in the NWC at 17.8 points per game.  Anderegg is fifth in the NWC with an average of 8.7 rebounds per game.  As a team, Whitman is averaging 75.7 points and 43.8 rebounds per game.  They are outscoring opponents by an average of 17 points per game.  Whitman leads the NWC in points per game, rebounds per game and personal fouls per game (16.9). Michelle Ferenz is in her 13th season as Whitman head coach.

ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 26-25        AGAINST RISSMILLER: Whitman leads 12-2
LAST MEETING: Whitman won 78-58 in Forest Grove on Jan. 4, 2014

WHITWORTH
The Pirates enter the week in third place in the NWC at 6-2 and are 12-5 overall.  Whitworth split its games last week, opening on Tuesday with a close 62-57 loss at undefeated Whitman.  The Pirates led by as much as nine points in the first half, but the Missionaries rallied in the second and took the win late.  The Pirates did not score in the final 2:27 of the contest in a game that had five ties and 21 lead changes.  KC McConnell led the Pirates with 18 points.  On Saturday, Whitworth cruised to a 90-62 victory over Lewis & Clark.  The Pirates shot 53.8 percent from the field and shot 58.3 percent in the second half (21-36).  Kayla Johnson led four Whitworth players in double figures with 20 points.  Johnson led the Whitworth offense and is second in the NWC with an average of 18.2 points per game.  She also leads the Pirates on the boards with an average of 7.8 rebounds per game.  As a team, Whitworth is averaging 74.9 points and 40.7 rebounds per game.  They are outscoring opponents by an average of 12 points per game.  Helen Higgs in her 20th season as Whitworth head coach.

ALL TIME SERIES: Whitworth leads 34-17    AGAINST RISSMILLER: Whitworth leads 8-6
LAST MEETING: Whitworth won 91-63 in Forest Grove on Jan. 3, 2014

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
CURLING UP ANOTHER BIG SCORING PERFORMANCE: Sarah Curl (Fr., Portland Ore.) had a breakout scoring performance early in the season, and then added her second breakout at a time when the Boxers needed it most.  The freshman came off the bench to score 25 points to lead Pacific to an 87-69 victory over Linfield.  She connected on 11 of 16 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range to go along with five rebounds.  It was the fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season and it was her most points since a season-high 30-point performance against Walla Walla on Dec. 3.  Curl improved her scoring average by over a point per game over the weekend and enters the week ranked third for the Boxers at 9.6 points per game.

COOKING ON THE BLOCKS: Olivia Cook (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) continues to play a big factor for the Boxers at the forward position.  The junior led the Olivias duo in the Boxers' game agaisnt Puget Sound on Friday, scoring 16 points to go along with six rebounds.  She connected on 5 of 14 from the field and 6 of 9 from the free throw line.  She then added 14 points in the Saturday victory over Linfield, making 5 of 10 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line to go along with seven rebounds.  Cook continues to be one of the top rebounders and free throw shooters in the NWC.  She enters the week tied for eighth in the NWC at seven rebounds per game.  She is tied for fifth in the NWC with 45 offensive rebounds and is tied for 10th with 112 total rebounds.  In free throw shooting, Cook is sixth in the NWC with a .797 free throw percentage and is tied for 10th with 47 free throws made.

TWO OLIVIAS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: Junior transfer Olivia Mayorga-Overtone (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) has continued to come up with solid scoring for the Boxers over the last couple of weeks.  Mayorga-Overtone coupled with Olivia Cook to score half of the Boxers' points against Puget Sound on Friday.  She contributed 14 points on 4 of 9 from the field, a three-pointer and 5 of 7 from the free throw line to go along with six rebounds.  In the win over Linfield on Saturday, Mayorga-Overtone scored seven points.  The junior enters the week as one of the top free throw shooters in the NWC despite her unorthodox style where she shoots from the far left-hand side of the stripe.  She leads the Boxers and is ranked fourth in the NWC with a .839 free throw percentage.  She is also tied for 10th in the NWC with 47 free throws made.

JONESING FOR SOME BENCH SCORING: Abby Jones (Jr., Haines, Alaska) has provided a much needed spark plug for the Boxers with scoring off the bench.  The junior transfer from Washington's Peninsula CC scored 19 points and had nine rebounds in last weekend's games.  Jones provided 10 points and four rebounds in Friday's game vs. Puget Sound, going 3 of 6 from the field and 4 of 7 from the free throw line.  In Saturday's victory over Linfield, Jones scored nine points on 3 for 4 from both the field and the free throw line to go along with five rebounds.  Jones has appeared in 14 of the Boxers' 16 games and enters the week averaging 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.  She leads the team with a .524 field goal percentage (33-63), but does not the meet the minimum of three field goals made per game to qualify for the conference statistics.

COLLECTING CHARITY: If Pacific has excelled in any one part of their game season, it has been in their ability to convert at the free throw line.  The Boxers enter the week with a .724 free throw percentage, ranking third in the NWC and 52nd among NCAA Division III teams.  Pacific also features two players in the NWC individual top-10 for free throw shooting.  Olivia Mayorga-Overtone is ranked fourth in the NWC with an .839 free throw percentage while Olivia Cook is ranked sixth in the NWC with a .797 percentage.  Both players are tied for 10th in the NWC with a total of 47 free throws made.  Matorga-Overtone has made 47 of 58, while Cook has canned 47 of 59.

RECORD PERFECTION: Pacific could not have been better from the free throw line in their game against Whitman on Jan. 4.  The Boxers went a perfect 13 of 13 from the free throw line, setting a new single game record.  The effort surpass the previous mark of .914 (31-34) against George Fox during the 1990-91 season.  The Boxers repeated the perfect performance against Lewis & Clark on Jan. 17, going 12 for 12 from the charity stripe.

IN THE NCAA STATS: Pacific is ranked as a team in two categories in the NCAA Division III national statistics.  The Boxers are ranked 52nd in free throw percentage at .724 and 59th in turnovers, averaging 15.6 per game.

PACIFIC TO RECOGNIZE NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN IN SPORT DAY: Pacific University will celebrate the participation and contribution of girls and women in sport on Feb. 4 in conjunction with National Girls & Women in Sport Day.  Recognition of the day will take place during Pacific's women's basketball game against Willamette at the Stoller Center Gymnasium.  Females who mention the day at the ticket gate will be admitted for free.
 
National Girls & Women In Sport Day is celebrated in all 50 states with community-based events, games, ceremonies and activities honoring the achievements of female athletes and encouraging the participation of girls and women in sports.  Of the university's over 500 student-athletes, 38.8 percent of participants are female.  "Your support of this by bringing a girl to the game will impact the efforts to increased visibility for female athletes and the struggle for equality in sports," said Pacific Head Women's Basketball Coach Sharon Rissmiller.  "We hope to see many young girls and women at the game on Tuesday."

PACIFIC PICKED SIXTH IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific to finish sixth in the league this season according to results of the annual coaches poll, released on Nov. 8.  The Boxers received 27 of a possible 80 votes in the poll, finishing 8 points of ahead of Linfield, who was selected seventh. Puget Sound is 10 points ahead of the Boxers, picked to finish fifth.  Whitman was picked to win the NWC title, gaining seven first place votes and a total of 70 points.  Lewis & Clark is selected to finish second with 55 points, including two first place votes.
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