STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team (5-1) won their fourth consecutive contest on Saturday afternoon, holding their opponent to under 50 points for the first time this year by defeating SMU, 77-49.
 
Having not achieved this feat since February 14th of last season in a 74-48 victory over USF, Pacific enjoyed arguably their best all-around effort of the young season, with four Tigers also scoring in double figures: Valerie Higgins (18), Jessica Blakeslee (16), Sofie Tryggedsson (12) and Brooklyn McDavid (12).
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
 
First Half-

• Kicking things off in style, sophomore Kaylin Randhawa scored the first points of the game on three pointer at 9:18, giving Pacific an early 3-0 lead. The Tigers would go on to hold SMU to 1-of-8 from the field through the game's first media timeout.
• At the end of the opening frame, UOP had jumped out to a 13-point advantage, leading the Mustangs 21-8 on 56.25% shooting (9-16) from the field.
• Finding her rhythm from behind-the-arc, Blakeslee hit two of her game-high five shots from downtown at 4:44 and 3:50 in the second quarter, giving Pacific a 16-point lead midway through the period.
• Establishing their dominance from the get-go, the Tigers took a commanding 40-21 lead over SMU into the locker room.
• UOP stifled the Mustangs on defense in the first two quarters, limiting their opponent to just 28.3% shooting overall in the first half.
• At the break, Higgins had recorded 11 points, three rebounds and three assists on 5-of-9 shooting. Blakeslee and McDavid also each added seven points on a combined 4-of-6 from the field as the Tigers notched a double-digit lead at halftime for the second straight game.

 
Second Half-

• Looking to carry their momentum into the second half, Blakeslee hit her third triple of the contest at the 8:50 mark to keep the Tigers out in front of SMU by a wide margin, 43-21.
• Pacific used a 12-2 run to begin the third quarter, including back-to-back three pointers from Tryggedsson.
• Extending their lead to as much as 31 points, UOP was cruising through three quarters of play, holding a 56-31 advantage heading into the final frame.
• The Tigers continued to click on all cylinders in the fourth quarter, pushing their lead to 33 on a free throw from redshirt freshman Cassidy Johnson at 2:07.
• Notching their fourth consecutive victory, Pacific took down SMU by a final score of 77-49. UOP's 5-1 start marks the second consecutive season they have started with this record (began 6-1 last season).
• Pacific is off to a hot start in 2019-20, defeating their opponents by an average of 20.8 points per game (margin was 10.8 through team's first six games last year).

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Following a dominant performance that saw her flirt with a triple-double, Higgins was named the City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the Game after finishing with game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (7). The redshirt junior also tied the game-high with six rebounds while adding three steals and one block.
• Blakeslee set a new season-high with 16 points in the win over the Mustangs in addition to matching a career-high with five three pointers (also had five vs. SJSU on 11/29/18).
• After registering 12 points for the Tigers, McDavid has now scored in double figures in all six games for Pacific this season.

 
WHAT COACH DAVIS SAID:
 
On team's effort: "We're really starting to share the ball well, and it was especially an emphasis against a team like this who does such a good job rotating defensively and rebounding the ball. We knew we would have to share the ball and make shots, so credit to SMU's defense, but also credit to our players for executing the gameplan."
On strong first half: "We talked about it before… we knew we needed to start putting together full games. There have been a couple games that we didn't start well or we let teams back in, so the more we can get into the season, the more we want to put together complete games."
 
On upcoming road trip: "Honestly right now, we want to just take a breather. We want to handle our studies as finals approach so that when we go on the road, we can focus on the task at hand. That's really going to be the message right now, but this team travels well and they know how to focus on what needs to be done."
 
 
UP NEXT:
The Tigers will enjoy a few days off before they hit the road for back-to-back games in southern California. Pacific will return to action next Thursday, Dec. 5 when they face UC Santbara, which will be followed by Saturday afternoon matchup at Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 7. Live stream, live audio and live stat links will be available on pacifictigers.com.
 
FOLLOW US:
For more updates and more information on the 2019-20 Pacific women's basketball team, be sure to follow @Pacific_Hoops on Twitter, @pacificwbb on Instagram and @PacificWomensBasketball on Facebook.