Junior Amy VanHollebeke's 19 points leads Pacific to a 82-74 win over Eastern Washington
Dec. 21, 2007
Stockton, Calif. - Behind 19 points from junior Amy VanHollebeke (San Diego, Calif.) and 16 points by senior Kelsey Lavender (Lake Oswego, Ore.) the Pacific women's basketball team downed Eastern Washington, 82-74, on Friday, Dec. 21. The win lifted the Tigers to 4-7 on the season, while Eastern Washington fell to 3-9. Out of the gate the Tigers appeared to be in for a fight as the Eagles were able to take a seven point lead through the first three minutes of play. However, down 11-4 to open the game, the Tigers hit the switch and turned on the offense in the first half using a 24-2 run over the next seven minutes to break open the contest and propel them to their fourth win of the season. During the run, Lavender netted 11 points for the Tigers, hitting three of her four shots from behind the arc on consecutive trips down the floor. Lavender was helped out on the offensive end by junior Janae Young (Sacramento, Calif.) who netted six of the Tigers' 24 points during the span. Pacific used 53.3% shooting in the first half of play to open up a 15 point lead heading into the halftime break. The Eagles were held in check for much of the half, shooting just 29.6% in the first half. Up big, the Tigers pushed their lead to as much as 21 points in the second half behind 15 second half points from VanHollebeke. Pacific's lead bounced back-and-forth between 21 points and 19 points throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Tigers and Eagles traded baskets. Despite the large lead, the Eagles were not dead yet, pushing back with their own 22-6 run over the next eight minutes of play to turn what seemed like an insurmountable lead into just a five point game with 1:52 to play in the contest. Tatjana Sparavalo led the charge, scoring 23 second half points as the Eagles shot 60.6% from the floor in the second half.
Facing adversity for the first time in the game, the Tigers responded with one of their better shooting nights from the free throw line as Pacific was able to ice the game from the charity stripe, hitting 22-of-27 second half free throws. VanHollebeke led the way with a perfect 12-of-12 night from the line. On the night, four Tigers went for double-digits as Young finished with 15 points and junior Karen Dawkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) netted 11 to join VanHollebeke and Lavender. Junior Whitney Price (Las Vegas, Nev.) added six points and a team-high eight rebounds in the winning effort. She also doled out five assists on the night as the Tigers produced 19 as a team. Sydney Benson and Kyla Evans scored 15 points and 13 points, respectively, for the Eagles to join Sparavola as the only Eastern Washington players to score in double figures. Benson added nine assists in the losing cause. The Tigers outrebounded the Eagles, 37-to-29, while outshooting their opponent, 47.4%-to-46.7%. Pacific returns to action on Friday, Dec. 28 as the Tigers host Portland at 7 p.m. |
 
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