Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook

Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook

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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
WILLAMETTE AT PACIFIC
Game No. 19/Home Game No. 10
Tues., Feb. 4, 6 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats | Live Audio & Video

GEORGE FOX AT PACIFIC
Game No. 20/Home Game No. 11
Fri., Feb. 7, 6 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats | Live Audio & Video

PACIFIC RETURNS HOME READY TO RETURN TO WIN COLUMN
After playing a pair of competitive contests at the eastern Washington schools, the Pacific women's basketball team returns home well primed to compete for a couple of wins at the Stoller Center.  The Boxers host Willamette on Tuesday before hosting nationally-ranked George Fox on Saturday.

BOXER BYTES
• Pacific used a double-double from Olivia Cook to play a competitive contest against No. 3 Whitman as the Boxers dropped a 65-55 decision to the undefeated Missionaries.  Cook finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, making 9 of 11 from the field.

• Pacific entered halftime on their Saturday game with Whitworth tied at 34-34, but the Pirates made seven more free throws and two more three-pointers than the Boxers to make up the difference in a 75-66 decision.  Sarah Curl came off the bench to score 14 points as the Boxers shot 45.2 percent for the game and 55.6 percent in the second half.

• Pacific's bench was a major factor in both games, with the Boxers' bench outscoring their opponents 51-38.  Sarah Curl and Olivia Mayorga-Overtone accounted for 27 of the Boxers' 35 bench points in Saturday's game against Whitworth.

• Pacific continues to excel at the free throw line, entering the week ranked third in the NWC with a .726 free throw percentage.  Pacific went 15 of 20 (.750) in the eastern Washington games.  The Boxers were ranked 55th among Division III in free throw shooting last week.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WILLAMETTE
The Bearcats enter the week tied for eighth in the NWC at 1-8 and are 3-16 overall.  Willamette enters the week on a seven-game skid after dropping both of their games in eastern Washington over the weekend.  On Friday, Whitworth handed the Bearcats an 83-47 loss.  Willamette shot 35.8 percent from the floor and just 4 of 10 from the free throw line while Whitworth shot 47.9 percent from the field.  Alexa Beeson led Willamette with 13 points and Savanna Steele came off the bench to score 12.  Whitman proved less kind of a host on Saturday, handing Willamette a 78-33 loss.  The Bearcats were limited to just nine field goals for the night and were outscored 49-21 in the second half.  Katie Kalugin had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, but she was the only Willamette player to score in double figures. Kalugin leads the Bearcats' offense with an average of 12.9 points per game while Jojo Delong is averaging 12.3 points per game.  Rebecca Josephson is the Bearcats' top rebounder at 6.8 boards per game.  As a team, Willamette is averaging 56 points and 33.8 rebounds per game, but are shooting just 36.5 percent from the field.  They are being outscored by an average of 14.4 points per game.  Peg Swadener is in her second year as Willamette head coach.

ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 32-21        AGAINST RISSMILLER: Pacific leads 10-4
LAST MEETING: Willamette won 65-62 in Salem, Ore., on Jan. 7, 2014

GEORGE FOX
The Bruins enter the week in second place in the NWC at 9-1 and are 18-1 overall, with their only loss coming to undefeated Whitman.  George Fox enters the week ranked No. 7 in the latest D3Hoops.com Top-25 Poll.  The Bruins have won four striaght after their loss to Whitman on Jan. 18, including both last week.  Linfield gave the Bruins a handful on Tuesday night.  The Wildcats had a 50-42 lead with 7:56 left before George Fox outscored Linfield 22-7 to close the game.  Jordyn Peacock and Jami Roos each scored 12 points to lead the Bruins.  On Saturday, the Bruins shot an impressive 61.3 percent from the floor in a 99-60 rout over Pacific Lutheran.  The Bruins built a 48-29 halftime lead thanks to shooting 59.4 percent from the field (19-32) in the first 20 minutes.  Roos once again led the Bruins with 20 points.  Roos leads the George Fox offense, averaging 10.9 points per game.  Megan Arnoldy is averaging 10.4 points per game.  Peacock is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 5.5 boards per game.  As a team, George Fox is averaging 74.3 points and 43.9 rebounds per game.  The team is outscoring opponents by an average of 22 points per game.  Michael Meek is in his fourth season as George Fox head coach.

ALL TIME SERIES: George Fox leads 38-15    AGAINST RISSMILLER: George Fox leads 14-0
LAST MEETING: George Fox won 78-48 in Newberg, Ore., on Jan. 11, 2014

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
COOKING UP ANOTHER BIG SCORING EFFORT: It was another solid week in the scoring department for Olivia Cook (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) as she turned in a pair of double-digit scoring efforts in the two eastern Washington games.  Cook opened her weekend with her third double-double of the season, scoring 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds against Whitman.  On Saturday at Whitworth, Cook did her part on the blocks again by scoring 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists.  Cook, the Boxers' leading scorer, is continuing to be a consistent scoring presence for the team.  She is averaging 12.4 points per game.  She enters the week ranked eighth in the NWC in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per game.  She is also ranked seventh with 49 offensive rebounds and eighth with 131 total rebounds.  In addition, Cook is one of the top free throw shooters in the NWC.  She is ranked sixth with a .810 free throw percentage and is 10th with 51 free throws made.

OVERTONES OF SUCCESS: Olivia Mayorga-Overtone (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) continues to provide a solid shooting spark for the Boxers off the bench.  The junior accounted for nearly half of a terrific bench presence against Whitworth on Saturday, scoring 13 points on 6 of 11 from the field to go with six rebounds and two assists.  Mayorga-Overtone has been a steady srocing presence, entering the week as the Boxers' second leading scorer at 10.7 points per game.  She is ranked third in the NWC in free throw shooting, averaging 83.3 percent (50-62), and went 3 for 4 in the weekend road trip.

SHELDON SCORING IN STARTING LINEUP RETURN: After being asked to assume a reserve role for a four-game stretch, Kati Sheldon (Sr., Paso Robles, Calif.) has started to provide some scoring for the Boxers in a return to the starting lineup.  The senior forward has scored 22 points in the three games she has been back in the starting five.  She had one of her best performances of the season on Friday against Whitman, scoring 10 points on 4 of 7 from the field to go along with six rebounds, an assist and a block.  Sheldon enters the week averaging 5.4 points per game and is among the team's most accurate shooters, making 48.3 percent of her shots from the field.

RIP AND CURL: Sarah Curl (Fr., Portland, Ore.) came up with another big scoring effort for the Boxers against Whitworth on Saturday.  The freshman came off the bench to score 14 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 1 of 2 from both the free throw line and three-point range.  It was the sixth double-digit scoring performance of the season for Curl and her second in the last three games.  Curl has been a dynamic presence for the Boxers in her first year.  She enters the week as the team's third leading scorer, averaging 9.4 points per game.

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 .726 free throw percentage, ranking third in the NWC and 55th among NCAA Division III teams (as of Jan. 30).  Pacific also features two players in the NWC individual top-10 for free throw shooting.  Olivia Mayorga-Overtone is ranked third in the NWC with an .833 free throw percentage while Olivia Cook is ranked sixth in the NWC with a .810 percentage.

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 (as of Jan. 30).  The Boxers are ranked 55th in free throw percentage at .724 and 66th 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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