Jan. 24, 2014
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LOS ANGELES - The Lions look to snap a two-game skid Saturday, when they host visiting Portland in a 2 p.m. West Coast Conference tip off in Gersten Pavilion. LMU Athletics will honor the 2003-04 women's basketball team, which won the 2004 WCC regular season and tournament championships, at halftime of Saturday's game.
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Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 - LMU vs. Portland, 2 p.m. - Gersten Pavilion
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Game Notes: Interactive | PDF
LIONS' LAST LINE
Deanna Johnson sank three free-throws with 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime against visiting No. 22-ranked Gonzaga Thursday night but the Zags would hold on for a 91-82 win. It was the Lions first overtime game and ranked opponent of the season. LMU battled from a 15-point second-half deficit to lead by as many as four, but Gonzaga would score first in the extra frame and never give up the lead again. The Lions had four players in double-figures, led by Johnson's 25 off the bench. Leslie Lopez-Wood finished one off her career-high (17 pts), Hazel Ramirez had 16 and Mackenzie Kerins chipped in 10 as LMU hit nearly 46 percent from the field, 42 percent from three and went 20-for-25 from the charity stripe.
FINDING THEIR STRIDE
Over the first 15 games of the season, the Lions averaged 66.3 points while shooting 36.6 percent from the field, 28 percent from three in 69 percent from the charity stripe. The tide has turned in the past four games as the Lions have hit a collective 49.6 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 81 percent from the free-throw line. Four Lions have averaged double figures during the stretch including Deanna Johnson (18.7 ppg), Hazel Ramirez (17.5 ppg), Leslie Lopez-Wood (14.8 ppg) and Sophie Taylor (13.8 ppg). Ramirez has also dished 6.8 apg and gone 29-for-33 (87.9 percent) from the free-throw line, including a streak of 23 straight. Lopez-Wood has hit 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from deep and Johnson's numbers are also impressive as she has totaled 56 points in just 66 total minutes of action (for good measure, Ramirez has played 135 minutes in this four-game span).
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
Leslie Lopez-Wood has hit four three's in each of the last three games, shooting .500 percent or better from deep in each of those games. The rookie, who has a single-game high of six - one shy of the LMU record - now has 42 three's on the year, good for the all-time LMU freshman record. She enter's Saturday's game versus Portland one three shy of the LMU single-season top 10 (10th place is 43, set by Renahy Young in 2010-11).
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Five players scored in double-figures at Pacific on Jan. 16, marking the second time this season that a quintet of players have achieved the feat in a game. The Lions have also had four players in double-figures five times this season, including Thursday versus Gonzaga.
Six different players have led the scoring column in a game, including Ramirez (8), Deanna Johnson (6), Sophie Taylor (2), Emily Ben-Jumbo (1), Chelsea Barnes (1) and Leslie Lopez-Wood (1).
ABOUT THE PORTLAND PILOTS
Portland moved to 11-8 overall and an even 4-4 in WCC play with a 53-43 win at Pepperdine Thursday night. Cassandra Thompson led the Pilots with 15 points while Cassandra Brown and Kari Luttinen added 14 and 12 points, respectively. It was the second straight win for the Pilots, who snapped a two-game skid last week by topping San Francisco, 82-72. Brown leads Portland with 14.6 ppg while Luttinen (13.1 ppg) and Jasmine Wooton (12.4 ppg) also average double figures.
