FRESNO, Calif. -- Kelsey Hudson scored a game-high 23 points, but it was her play in the final minutes that lifted Azusa Pacific to a crucial 78-68 road GSAC win over Fresno Pacific Saturday.
Azusa Pacific improves to 17-8 overall, 10-5 GSAC. The win is the Cougars' fifth straight, their longest win streak of the season, and their seventh in the past 9 games. Fresno Pacific drops to 13-13, 7-9.
With Fresno Pacific erasing most of a 19-point deficit, Hudson scored 5 points in the final 1:23 and grabbed a back-breaking offensive rebound off a Candis Regan missed free throw with 29 seconds left to single-handedly restore order and stave off the Sunbirds' furious charge.
Alyssa Ferdaszewski gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game, 62-43, with a lay-up at the 9:50 mark, but the Sunbirds began to claw away with a 14-3 spurt to get within 8 (65-57) with 6:32 to play. Marie Dyk appeared to have stemmed the tide with a trey and a pair of free throws to give the Cougars a 70-57 lead with 5:45 to go.
Azusa Pacific held a 72-60 lead with 4:07 to play when Jane Gillespie buried a jumper followed by back-to-back treys by Lindsey Burnett to get the Sunbirds within 4 (72-68) with 2:51 remaining. Twice the Sunbirds had a chance to make it a one-possession game after the Cougars' third straight turnover and a pair of missed free throws with 1:41 remaining, but the Cougars held, and Hudson converted a pair of free throws with 1:23 left and a jumper with 40 seconds remaining to push the lead back up to 8.
Nicolette Dresback broke a 12-12 with a trey at the 13:04 mark of the first half that sparked the Cougars to a 17-6 run over an 8:36 span. That spurt, capped by a Monica Somers layup, seemingly blew the game open and gave the Cougars a 29-18 lead with 4:28 left in the half. Ferdaszewski and Somers combined for 10 of the Cougars' 17 points in the run, and the Cougars never trailed again.
Again the Cougar defense was sparkling, limiting the Sunbirds to just 35.2% (25-for-71) from the floor and forcing 23 turnovers.
Dyk finished with 15, including a trio of 3-pointers. Dresback had another fine all-around performance adding with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. Lindsey West chipped in with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
