FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The Pacific University women's basketball team put up a fight against No. 6 Whitman but fell short 60-52 on Friday night inside the Stoller Center.
The Boxers (13-6, 7-3 NWC) shot 37% from the field making five threes along the way. Pacific out-rebounded Whitman and grabbed a total of 42 rebounds.
No. 6 Whitman (19-1, 11-0 NWC) was 36% from the field and with only one three. The Blues caused 20 turnovers and capitalized with 17 points off of those turnovers.
Camy Aguinaldo (Senior/Honolulu, HI) led the team in scoring tonight with a total of 21 points going 8-of-18 from the field. Aguinaldo also made her presence felt on defense with two steals.
Rilee Price (Junior/Brea, CA) recorded 11 points in this game and also made a pair of threes. She also led the team with three assists.
Sydney Gray (Junior/Central Point, OR) had a monster rebounding game, leading the team with nine boards.
Brilie Kovaloff (Junior/Honolulu, HI) had an unusually quiet game with seven points to her name, but made up with great efforts everywhere else on the court, posting five rebounds and two assists.
How It Happened
Pacific got off to a great start when Price hit a contested three to give the Boxers the early lead. Price and Aguindalo would enjoy an excellentfirst quarter with each player scoring five points, scoring 10 out of Pacific's 12 points in the first quarter. Pacific would hold onto the lead until the final 10 seconds when Whitman's Sydney Abbott hit a three-pointer to give Whitman a 13-12 lead to end the first quarter.
The Blues continued to build that lead in the second quarter, going on a 5-0 run to make it a 18-12 ball game. Aguindalo quickly responded with a pair of layups to make it a one score game. But the Blues took advantage of four Boxer turnovers and made another 6-0 run. The Blues went 0-for-8 for five minutes until making a layup in the final seconds of the second quarter making it a 29-24 game at half.
The Boxers caught some fire at the start of the third quarter when Price and Gray made a three pointer within the first two minutes. Then a layup from
Madison Dunlop (Sophomore/Palmer, AK) gave the Boxers their first lead since the first quarter. After a pair of free throws went in for the Blues, Dunlop gave the Boxers another layup to give the Boxers a 34-33 lead with 5:38 left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the Boxers would have the lead in the game. Whitman ended the third quarter with a 10-0 run.
The Boxers went on a 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter to cut the Blues lead to three (45-42) with 5:20 left on the clock. After a couple of back-and-forth baskets from both teams the Blues really started to stretch their lead in crunch time.
Down 56-48 with 56 seconds left, the Boxers knew they had to make something happen. Aguinaldo drove into the lane with a layup and forced the 'And-1' against the Blues' defender, cutting their lead to five. Unfortunately, the Boxers were unable to knock anything down late in the game coming up just short against the sixth ranked team in the nation.
By The Numbers
- Pacific tied their season-high in turnovers with 20 total turnovers.
- Pacific won the rebounding battle 42-36.
- Whitman was just 1-of-14 from three-point range in the entire game.
Up Next
The Boxers will host Whitworth tomorrow night inside the Stoller Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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