This Week In Pacific Women's Basketball
PACIFIC at LINFIELD
Game No. 17/Road Game No. 8
Tue., Jan. 24, 6 p.m., Ted Wilson Gymnasium, McMinnville, Ore.
Live Audio: goboxers.com/webcasts
PACIFIC at PUGET SOUND
Game No. 18/Road Game No. 9
Sat., Jan. 28, 6 p.m., Memorial Fieldhouse, Tacoma, Wash.
Live Stats: goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio: goboxers.com/webcasts
Just Can't Wait To Get On The Road Again
After running a scheduling gauntlet of consecutive games against No. 3 George Fox, followed by an eastern Washington swing and a trip to No. 7 Lewis & Clark, the Pacific women head back on the road to begin the second half of the Northwest Conference schedule. After two days off, Pacific will travel to McMinnville to take on Linfield before making the trip to Tacoma to face Puget Sound. The Boxers hope the rematch against the Wildcats on Tuesday sparks some muscle memory. The slumping Boxers were at their best, hitting a school-record 14 three-point shots the last time the two teams met at the Stoller Center.
Boxer Bytes
• The Boxers have received double-double performances in seven of the past nine games from three different players.
Paige Jensen (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.) leads the way with four, while
Erica Schultz (Sr., Medford, Ore.) earned her first on Saturday with 16 points and 13 rebounds against Pacific Lutheran.
• Pacific has lost five straight games while mired in a shooting slump that has seen season-low field goal percentage efforts in four straight games, culminating in Saturday's 28 percent performance in a 62-48 loss to Pacific Lutheran.
•
Erica Schultz is second in the NWC in free throw percentage (.820), while
Paige Jensen is shooting 82 percent in NWC games, good enough for fifth in the conference.
•
Erica Schultz became Pacific's first D3Hoops.com Team Of The Week honoree since 2006 and earned her second NWC Student-Athlete Of The Week honor of the season. The Boxers' leading scorer on the season (14.9), Schultz leads the NWC in steals (3.0 per game).
Following The Boxers
On The Web: The Pacific Athletics website, GoBoxers.com, is the most up-to-date resource for all news, statistics, schedules and information pertaining to Pacific University athletics. The website is updated nightly after home and away events.
On Facebook: The Pacific University Boxers Facebook page is updated daily with scores, schedule updates and additional features. To become a fan of Pacific athletics, visit facebook.com/pacificuboxers.
On Twitter: Fans and media are invited to follow Pacific University athletics via Twitter. Visit us at twitter.com/goboxers.
Scouting The Opponents
LINFIELD (2-6 NWC, 8-9 overall)
Linfield senior Gretchen Owens is far and away the leading scorer in the NWC at 21.6 points per game. The 5-8 senior guard matched a career-high with 35 points in a 75-73 loss at Whitworth on Jan. 14, an effort which also catapulted her to the No. 2 spot on Linfield's career scoring list, moving past Julie Morgan, who scored 1,192 points from 1980-84. Owens leads the 'Cats in nearly every statistical category this season. Linfield will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak after dropping games at Puget Sound (65-57 on Friday) and home against George Fox (75-52 on Saturday) following a losing road trip to eastern Washington the previous week. In the last meeting of the two teams, Pacific hit a school-record 14 three-pointers in 26 attempts on the way to an 87-54 rout at the Stoller Center on Nov. 29, Linfield's most lopsided loss of the season. The Wildcats swept last season's series.
ALL TIME SERIES: Linfield leads 27-22.
AGAINST RISSMILLER: Linfield leads 6-3.
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 87-54 at Forest Grove (11/29/11).
PUGET SOUND (5-3, 9-8) vs. Willamette, Jan. 27
The Loggers fell just short of a comeback in a 70-64 loss to No. 7 Lewis & Clark on Saturday. Puget Sound forced 25 turnovers from the Pioneers with 13 coming in the second half. After trailing by nine at halftime, the Loggers closed the gap to 66-64 with three minutes remaining before the Pios secured the win at the free throw line. After a close first half on Friday, the Loggers used 16 points off turnovers and forced 13 second-half giveaways to defeat Linfield 65-57. Pacific's disciplined, switching man-to-man defense will be tested against the aggressive Loggers, who lead the NWC in free throw attempts and makes (284-407), while the Boxers commit the least fouls in the NWC (13.4). Logger guard Kelsey McKinnis is fourth in the NWC in scoring (15.1 points per game). Jocelyn Riordan (10.2 ppg) hit the game-winning basket with 5.5 seconds left in a 69-67 win at Pacific on Dec. 2.
ALL TIME SERIES: Puget Sound leads 25-7.
AGAINST RISSMILLER: Puget Sound leads 9-1.
LAST MEETING: Puget Sound won 69-67 at Forest Grove (12/2/11).
Pacific News & Notes
DOUBLE VISION: With no double-double performances in the first seven games, Pacific has now had seven in the past nine games from three different players.
Erica Schultz became the latest to join the double-double club, leading the Boxers with 16 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 62-48 loss to Pacific Lutheran.
Paige Jensen recorded her team-leading fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 65-58 loss at Whitman on Jan. 14. The 5-11 forward has nine career double-doubles in her three years at Pacific.
After going a year between double-doubles,
Brittney Anderson (Sr., Missoula, Mont.) had two in the span of a week. The 5-10 forward recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards in Pacific's 72-52 win at Willamette on Jan. 6, then corraled 11 rebounds to go with 10 points in a 70-68 overtime loss at Whitworth on Jan. 13.
Jensen leads the team, while ranking third in the NWC with 9.3 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring (11.4 points per game). Anderson is averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.
TURNING POINT(S): As the Boxers hit the midway point of the conference schedule, they are mired in a four-game shooting slump. Pacific was limited to a season low in points in Friday's 74-37 loss at Lewis & Clark and shot a season-worst 28 percent from the field in Saturday's 62-48 loss to Pacific Lutheran. The Boxers were hoping for some relief at home after four straight losses to winning teams, but saw their losing streak extend to five games as the Lutes snapped a seven-game skid of their own.
Prior to the losing streak, Pacific went into the weekend of Jan. 6-7 shooting .429 as a team, second in the conference at that time. The Boxers have since slipped to .402, while their .379 field goal percentage in NWC games is second from the bottom.
The Boxers did bounce back on the boards after giving up 26 offensive rebounds to Lewis & Clark. Pacific outrebounded PLU 43-38 with a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass, but their second and third shots often met the same fate as their first shots.
LINE IT UP: While
Erica Schultz puts up Player Of The Year-type production, the 2011-12 Boxers are far from a one-woman show.
Paige Jensen continues to add elements to her game to make her one of the more dangerous and versatile frontcourt players in the conference.
Already one of the NWC's top rebounders (9.3 per game), Jensen has become more of a scoring threat while adding a relentless dribble attack and respectable pull-up jumper to her arsenal. Even when her shot is off, Jensen has been effectitve by putting the ball on the floor and getting to the free throw line.
After going 20-25 at the line in the last four games, Jensen is shooting 75 percent for the season, while connecting on 82 percent of her freebies in NWC games, fifth in the conference.
Schultz leads the team and is second in the NWC at 82 percent from the line, but did not shoot a single free throw in a pair of weekend losses. Neither Schultz nor Jensen made it to the charity stripe in Friday's 74-37 loss at Lewis & Clark, in which the Boxers were held to a season-low six attempts.
WALL BANGER: Needing a physical presence on the floor at Lewis & Clark, Coach Rissmiller turned to freshman
Anuhea Wall (Kealakekua, Hawaii), who left a (black and blue) impression on the Pioneers during seven active minutes on the floor.
Wall missed her only two shot attempts including a three-pointer, but dished out two assists, had two rebounds and had her nose right in the middle of every loose ball scramble while she was on the floor, while causing more than one Pioneer to get acquainted with the taste of hardwood.
The aggressive 5-9 forward, who had not played since Jan. 6, also saw brief action the following night, going 0 for 1 from 3-point range against Pacific Lutheran.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Erica Schultz became the first Boxer woman in six years to be named to D3Hoops.com's national Team Of the Week, while earning NWC Student-Athlete Of The Week honors for the second time for her post-Christmas performances.
The returning Second Team All-NWC forward matched her career-high with 29 points, adding five rebounds, five steals and five blocks with two assists in a 65-55 loss to NWC-leading George Fox on Jan. 7, one day after scoring 23 points with seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and no turnovers in Pacific's 72-52 victory at Willamette.
Schultz took over the George Fox game in the second half, scoring 15 consecutive points as the Boxers trimmed a 17-point Bruins lead to six. The 5-10 forward showed that her second half performance was no fluke, as she poured in 20 points after halftime, including all 10 Boxer points in overtime in a 70-68 loss at Whitworth on Jan. 13, her fourth consecutive 20-point game.
The versatile Schultz continues to lead the NWC in steals (3.0 per game) and with her recent scoring binge, has rocketed into the top five in the conference (14.9 points per game). Schultz also ranks in the top ten in six other offensive and defensive statistical categories.
SEASON PREVIEW: The complete 2011-12 Pacific women's basketball season preview can be viewed online at www.goboxers.com/wbx/season-preview.cfm.
PACIFIC PICKED EIGHTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have once again picked Pacific to finish eighth in the annual preseason coaches' poll released in October. The Boxers finished with 16 of a possible 80 points, finishing 7 points ahead of ninth place Willamette. George Fox was picked once again to finish on top of the poll, receiving seven of nine first place votes with a total of 70 points. The Bruins have shared or won each of the last five NWC titles. Lewis & Clark was picked second with 59 points after sharing the 2010-11 title with George Fox. A change in the voting rules this season meant that coaches could not vote for their own teams.
