TACOMA, Wash.- The Pacific University women's basketball team won a thrilling Northwest Conference Tournament semifinal game on Thursday evening against No. 23 Puget Sound, 67-65. With the win, the Boxers punch their ticket to the NWC Championship game for the first time since 1996.
Pacific (19-7, 12-4 NWC) trailed by 10 points at halftime but rallied to out-score Puget Sound 22-10 in the third quarter to take their first lead of the game. The Boxers shot 21-52 (40.4%) from the field on Thursday evening and also found success by scoring 14 second-chance points on the night.
Puget Sound (20-5, 13-3 NWC) had an efficient night from the floor shooting 27-65 (41.5%). Samantha Swartout led the way with 12 points on the night.
Emily Holsan (Freshman/Sammamish, WA) enjoyed a breakout performance with a career-high 17 points, making 5 of her 7 attempts from the floor. The freshman was 3-of-4 from three-point range and knocked down a huge triple down the stretch in the fourth quarter. She had an impact all over the floor with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Camy Aguinaldo (Senior/Honolulu, HI) contributed 14 points on the night while shooting 3-of-7 from downtown.
How It Happened
The Boxers struggled their first few times down the floor, turning the ball over twice, allowing the Loggers to spark a 9-0 run to open the contest. Aguinaldo was able to hit a corner three at the 5:47 mark giving the Boxers their first points of the night. The only other converted shot in the quarter was another Aguinaldo three pointer from the opposite side of the floor. At the end of the first quarter, Pacific trailed 14-7.
UPS opened the second quarter by scoring on four straight possessions. Gray would respond on the next possession with a layup from the right side following a great driving pass from Holsan. The Boxer offense would start to heat up before the five-minute media timeout, converting a pair of free throws and another layup. The two teams would trade buckets as the first half closed before
Alexis Intong (Junior/Kirkland, WA) would corral an offensive rebound and convert the layup to make it 36-26 at halftime.
At the halftime break, Pacific was led on the offensive end by Aguinaldo who had 10 points. Holsan offered a helping hand in the first half with seven points while also being productive on the defensive end with two steals.
Holsan would make her presence felt right away in the second half, drilling a three-pointer in front of the Pacific Baseball team, who erupted as it rippled the net. After the Loggers converted a driving layup, Holsan would answer with a reverse layup following a great pass from Aguinaldo to make it 40-33. A Price jumper in the paint got the Boxer student-section in full force, forcing a Logger timeout with 4:31 remaining in the quarter. Puget Sound called the timeout as the Red and Black were on a 12-2 run.
Hannah Stein (Sophomore/Eugene, OR) would make back-to-back three-pointers to give the Boxers their first lead of the game at 44-42. As the teams headed to the final 10 minutes, Pacific held a 48-46 lead after out-scoring the Loggers 22-10 in the third quarter.
The Boxers would come out firing on all cylinders to start the fourth quarter when
Brilie Kovaloff (Junior/Honolulu, HI) drove the lane and found a cutting Gray for an open layup. The visitors from Forest Grove would take a five-point lead with 7:42 remaining in the final quarter, 53-48. UPS would respond with back-to-back layups, whittling the margin to just one point. Holsan would get open in the corner again and find the bottom of the net, extending the lead to 58-54. When the Boxers thought they could pull away, the Loggers would respond with a couple big shots to stay within striking distance. UPS would pull within two with 28 seconds left before Kovaloff would convert two free throws to stretch the lead to 66-62. Aguinaldo would make one of two foul shots on the Boxers' final trip to the line, clinching Pacific's spot in the NWC Championship game.
Up Next
Pacific will head to Walla Walla, Wash. to face Whitman College on Feb. 26 for a matchup in the NWC Championship with a scheduled tip at 7 p.m.
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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