FOREST GROVE, Ore.- The Pacific University women's basketball suffered their first loss of the season in a hard-fought contest against a solid Trinity (Tex.) team, falling 72-69 to the Tigers in the final women's basketball game of the Ken Schumann Classic.
 
The Boxers did not have their best shooting night, recording a field-goal percentage of just 38% and making just 7-of-24 shots from three-point range. Pacific trailed by as many as 15 but showed great resilience to regain the lead late in the game. 
 
Camy Aguinaldo (Senior/Honolulu, HI) led the Boxers offensively with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The senior grabbed eight rebounds to lead the team on the glass. Sydney Gray (Junior/Central Point, OR) scored a career-high 21 points with seven boards. Gray knocked down three shots from beyond the arc and made quite the impact on the defensive end of the court.
 
Brilie Kovaloff (Junior/Honolulu, HI) also found herself in double figures, pouring in 14 points. Rilee Price (Junior/Brea, CA) tallied a game-high 10 assists with four rebounds and a steal.
 
 
How It Happened
 
Gray got the Boxers started with a huge three-pointer on their first possession. The visitors would respond, however, taking a narrow lead at the end of the opening 10 minutes. 
 
Trinity started off hot in the second period, draining three consecutive three-pointers en route to a 13-0 run. This would give the Tigers a 12-point advantage at the halfway point of the second quarter. A three-ball from Kovaloff would momentarily cut the lead to seven points, but another good sequence from the Tigers helped restore their double-digit lead at the break.
 
The two teams would trade baskets for much of the third quarter, but five straight points from Aguinaldo near the end of the period would put the Boxers within striking distance heading into the final period.
 
Kovaloff nailed her second three of the night and Gray provided a layup to make it 59-63 with just over seven minutes to play. Gray came up clutch yet again, finding the bottom of the net from three-point range to put Pacific within three. Another big basket from the junior would give the Boxers their first lead since early in the first half, shifting the momentum in favor of the hosts.
 
Gray's third three of the night followed by an Aguinaldo layup gave Pacific a two-point lead with two minutes on the clock. Tied at 69-69, Trinity's Maggie Shipley finished a tough layup to put her team back out in front. One more free throw from the visitors made it 72-69 and the Boxers would have one last shot at sending the game to overtime. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards and Pacific would suffer their first loss of the young season.
 
By The Numbers

• The Tigers won the rebounding battle 43-40 with 14 offensive boards.

 
 
Up Next
 
The Boxers head back to California to face two more foes from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) on Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. where they will face Redlands.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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