A spirited rally by the University of La Verne in the final minutes fell short as the Leopards dropped a 71-68 verdict to Pacific University in women's basketball action Tuesday at Frantz Athletic Court.
The visiting Boxers led 33-32 at the half and proceeded on an 11-1 in the first 3:27 after intermission to take a 44-33 advantage with 16:33 to play. Pacific led by as many as 13 points at 62-49 before the Leopards closed the gap in the final minutes.
La Verne (2-6) got to within three points at 67-64 with 1:03 remaining, but the Boxers held on thanks to a pair of free throws from Ashley Jacobs to extend the lead to five points with 29 seconds left. A layup from Amanda Copas pulled the Leos to within a point at 69-68 with three seconds remaining but was countered by two free throws from Pacific's Kristen Corrales with one second on the clock to secure the victory.
In the first half, La Verne enjoyed a solid start and opened its largest lead of the game on a pair of free throws from Raphaelle Buenafe to give the Leos a 17-6 cushion with 11:55 left. Pacific recovered with separate 6-0 scoring runs to go ahead 23-21 with 5:43 left on its way to a one-point advantage at the break.
Pacific (3-6) shot 55.3% from the field and made 7 of its 11 three-point field goal attempts. La Verne was held to a 31.3% clip from the field (20-64) but connected on 21 of 28 free throw attempts (75.0%). The Leopards defense forced 29 Boxer turnovers but were out-rebounded by a 43-34 margin.
Five Boxers scored in double figures led by Jacobs with 15 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. Brittney Anderson and Kristen Corrales tallied 13 points each while Annette Highley and Paige Jensen added 10 points each.
Ashley Paul led La Verne with a game-high 17 points followed by Mayra Duenas who added 13 points Megan Musashi and Buenafe scored 9 points apiece while Emily Carrillo posted 6 points and 5 rebounds. Nicole Wandler topped the Leopards in rebounding with 8 boards in 20 minutes of action.
The Leopards will take eight days off from competition before resuming action December 29 when they host Maryville University at Frantz Athletic Court. Tip-off is 5:00.
