Pacific Women's Basketball: Hungry For More Victories, Tigers Travel To Take On Two East Coast Opponents
The Tigers begin a four-game road swing starting with a trip to the East Coast this weekend. Pacific takes on Iona in New York on Friday, Nov. 20 with a start time slated for 9 a.m. PST. The Tigers then close out the cross country trip at Monmouth in New Jersey Sunday, Nov. 22 with tip-off set for 12 p.m. PST. After Thanksgiving, the Tigers will head up to the Pacific Northwest to take on two programs in Portland, Ore.
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Pacific Women's Basketball This Week:
Friday, Nov. 20 - at Iona, 9 a.m. PST
Sunday, Nov. 22 - at Monmouth, 12 p.m. PST
Pacific Women's Basketball Last Week, 1-1:
Sunday, Nov. 15 - vs. Montana State, L 91-79
Tuesday, Nov. 17 - vs. Southern Utah, W 67-54
IONA SERIES HISTORY
The Tigers begin the road portion of their season with a four game swing that kicks off on the East Coast at Iona on Friday. Pacific holds the series advantage 2-0 over the Gaels after facing Iona last season and for the first time ever during the 2003-04 season. In last year's tangle in the Spanos Center, Pacific claimed a narrow 66-62 victory over Iona. In the two teams' first meeting, the Tigers outplayed the Gaels, 74-63.
MONMOUTH SERIES HISTORY
The Tigers' East Coast road trip concludes with a first-ever meeting between Pacific and Monmouth in West Long Branch, N.J. In fact, Pacific has yet to travel out to the state of New Jersey, so this will be their first recorded match in the Garden State. Against New Jersey teams, Pacific is 0-1, as their only meeting with Rutgers at home resulted in a 61-53 loss on Nov. 29, 2001.
WEEKEND CONTESTS TO BE FEATURED ON RADIO LOCALLY
The start of the 2009-10 road schedule marks the Tigers' first true radio broadcast. Both games will be broadcast locally in the Central Valley on KSTN 1420 AM. Both broadcasts are slated to begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off. For fans and followers of Pacific Basketball not located in the region, the games will also be simulcast online at www.pacifictigers.com, by clicking on the Listen Live link next to the scheduled games on the home page. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 a.m. PST on Friday, Nov. 22, and 12 p.m. PST on Sunday, Nov. 22.
SEVERAL PLAYERS ESTABLISH CAREER-BEST NUMBERS AGAINST SOUTHERN UTAH
Junior Jennifer Fath (Carrollton, Texas) had another career showing against Southern Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 17 when she established personal bests in rebounds (8) and blocks (2) en route to an 11-point showing. In the previous game against Montana State on Sunday, Nov. 15, Fath had increased her career-high rebounds to six prior to Tuesday's contest.
Senior Jasmine Dana (Bakersfield, Calif.) followed suit and established a person-best mark for steals in a single game (4). On two occasions prior to the 2009-10 season, Dana tallied three steals. For freshman Erica McKenzie (Sparks, Nev.), it only took two collegiate contests for her to get right in the groove. The freshman set the benchmark high for her collegiate career, tallying in the double-digits during both occasions. Against Montana State McKenzie posted 10 points and washed that down with 11 against Southern Utah on Nov. 17.
Also making quick contributions to the Tiger roster is junior Shantel Thomas (Sacramento, Calif.). Thomas' served two minutes on the floor for Pacific against Southern Utah, marking her return to Division I basketball since the 2006-07 season when she played in the Big West Conference at powerhouse UC Santa Barbara. Within the second Thomas hit the floor, she posted her first layup at Pacific. Limited to two minutes of play due to her recovery from an earlier ACL injury, Thomas has proven that she still can impact the game in small spurts. Thomas tallied four points, one steal, one block and was a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the free throw line in only two minutes of play.
TIGERS' NUMBERS AMONG THE HIGHEST OF BIG WEST OPPONENTS
Although still early in the young 2009-10 season, most of the nine teams around the Big West Conference have two games under their belt this year. Among Big West foes at the beginning of this week, the Tigers stand out in the top three in several statistical categories, In the defensive rebounding category, Pacific tops all Big West universities allowing the defense to average 25.0 defensive rebounds a game, for the lowest mark in that category. Offensively, the Tigers average 41.0 rebounds a game - a mark which puts them at second out of all nine Big West schools.
Offensively from the field, Pacific holds the second-best scoring offense after averaging 73.0 points per game over the course of the past two contests. From the field, the Tigers are shooting .421 for the third best shooting percentage among conference opponents.
The Tigers do not enter Big West Conference play until January 2010.
ROBERTS BRINGS ABOARD THREE FOR 2010-11 DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
During the early signing period three high school seniors, Danielle Peacon, Taryn Garza and Gena Johnson, have committed to begin their basketball careers at Pacific next season, by sending in their National Letters of Intent.
Peacon is a 6-3 post and from Reed High School in Sparks, Nev., and former high school teammate of current Tiger Erica McKenzie. Peacon finished a stellar junior season as the Raiders made their fourth-consecutive trip to the state championship tournament and closed out the 2008-09 season as the Northern Nevada 4A Runner Up and Peacon wound up on the First Team All-State team for her presence in the championship tournament. One of the top prospects out of the post position on the West Coast, Peacon was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state of Nevada by ESPN after a phenomenal junior season. During her sophomore campaign Peacon led the squad with 14.5 points per game. Reed HS went on to finish the 2007-08 season with a 23-8-1 overall record and a perfect 13-0 mark in the High Desert League. For her efforts, Peacon was named as a 4A All-Region player and capped off the year as ESPN's No. 16 post prospect in the nation.
A local player out of Modesto, Calif., Garza is a 6-0 forward from Modesto Christian. Last year, Garza and the Crusaders compiled a 27-8 overall record and went undefeated in the Trans Valley League with a perfect 13-0 record. Garza's finesse and power helped her to lead the team with a career-best 8.2 rebounds per game average. She also chipped in 11.9 points per game, en route to 369 total points to finish second among all Crusaders in 2008-09 along with 3.6 steals per game. That season Garza led her teammates to the Division IV State Championships where the Crusaders finished as runners-up by only three points. Garza found her name on the 2008-09 First Team All-Trans Valley League list and was given the Sportsmanship Award after the State Championship game. Her awards continued to roll in as Garza capped off her senior season as a 2009 First Team All-District Modesto Bee recipient.
Transferring to Franklin High School in Elk Grove, Calif., as a junior, Johnson is a 5-6 guard. During her first season at Franklin HS in 2008-09, Johnson led the Wildcats to a 21-8 overall record and a 9-1 Delta Valley League finish. As junior in her first season with the Wildcats she established team-best marks in points per game average (16.9) which marked her as the Delta Valley League's leading scorer, steals (3.4) and blocks (2.1). She finished off the year and led Franklin with 473 overall points and 5.2 boards per game. For her stand-out junior season, Johnson is ranked as California's No. 21 guard prospect after being named the Delta Valley League's MVP and First Team All-League. Outside organizations recognized Johnson's authority on the floor and she was awarded to the 2009 First Team Sacramento Bee All-City team as well as Sacramento's top athlete on the River Cats' All-City team as a junior.
PACIFIC PLAYS PINK GAME TO BE FEATURED ON COMCAST HOME NETWORK
The Tigers are set to host their third annual Pacific Plays Pink night, featuring pink jerseys, as part of the national Pink Zone week to raise awareness for breast cancer and help with research funding. Pacific's Pink game takes place on Saturday, Jan. 30, when the Tigers host UC Riverside in Big West Conference play. That game will also be televised in the Central Valley on Comcast Home Network. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.