AZUSA, Calif. -- Senior All-GSAC Stephanie Patten put a final cap on her tremendous GSAC Tournament with a 28-point, 11-rebound performance, as Azusa Pacific became the first team in conference history to win the postseason tournament 3 straight years with a 73-62 win over No. 1-seed Fresno Pacific.
 
The victory also avenges the Cougars' previous 2 defeats to the Sunbirds during the regular season.  Patten concludes the 3-game event with 84 points (28 per game) and 44 rebounds (14.6 per game).
 
"We tried to make everything Fresno did tonight, difficult," said Azusa Pacific head coach Matt Elofson.  "We didn't want anything to come easy for them, whether it was dribbling, shooting, passing or rebounding.  The difference between this game, and our 2 losses is that we executed down the stretch.  We're coming together as a team, and a lot of that has to do with the last 4 games."
 
The Cougars trailed 57-55 with 4:37 to play when Patten went to work scoring 5 straight points, including a conventional 3-point play to give the Cougars the lead for good with 3:45 to play.  Catherine Solorio then put the finishing touches on 8 straight Cougars points with a 3-point bomb from the corner, giving the Cougars a 6-point (63-57) advantage with 2:31 to play.
 
Fresno Pacific's Maurecia Clark hit a pair of free throws to stop the bleeding, but senior All-GSAC Jacqueline Godoy scored 5 straight points to give the Cougars their largest lead of the game to that point (68-59 with 1:14 to play).  In all, the Cougars outscored the Sunbirds 18-5 over the final 3:46 of the contest.
 
Azusa Pacific led 31-27 at the intermission, however, Fresno Pacific opened the second half with an 11-4 run to take a 38-35 lead less than 5 minutes into the second half.  Yet, the Cougars, behind 9 points from Patten, responded with a huge 16-5 run over a 7 minute span to open up an 8-point (51-43) lead with 8:48 to play.  Sarah Montavon scored 6 points to spark an 11-2 Sunbird that re-gave them the lead with 5:38 to play.
 
Solorio added 19 points, and Godoy finished with 11 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.  GSAC Player of the Year Teresa Kamps led the Sunbirds with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Jennifer Anderson added 13 points and 6 rebounds off the bench.
 
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 25-7. Fresno Pacific falls to 27-7.  Both teams will participate in the upcoming NAIA Tournament in Jackson, Tenn., along with fellow GSAC-member Vanguard.  Seedings will be released Wednesday (March 6) at 5:30 p.m.