COSTA MESA, Calif. -- The NAIA’s No. 19-ranked Azusa Pacific provided a stiff challenge to top-ranked Vanguard, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the Cougars went cold shooting and dropped an 80-72 decision at The Pit as the Lions extended their GSAC-record conference winning streak to 33 games with the win.
Junior forward Abby Johnson scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Cougars, and senior guard Monica Somers scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half, knocking down 10 second-half free throws to help keep the Cougars in the game despite shooting just 39 percent (10-for-26) from the field after halftime.
Junior guard Kate Shipp knocked down a 3-pointer to give Azusa Pacific a 15-8 lead just over 6 minutes into the game, but Vanguard answered with a 9-0 run to take a 17-15 lead with 11:22 to play in the half. Senior guard Alyssa Ferdaszewski’s putback off a missed Cougar 3-pointer sparked a 12-0 run over the next 4 minutes to give the Cougars a 27-17 lead with just over 7 minutes to play in the opening half.
However, Vanguard closed out the half with a 17-6 run, which was capped by Kelly Schmidt’s layup with 29 seconds left that sent the Lions into halftime with a 34-33 advantage.
Senior forward Meliame Hala’ufia put back another missed Cougar 3-pointer to give Azusa Pacific its final lead of the game at 35-34 on the opening possession of the second half, Vanguard used a 10-2 run to take a 44-37 lead with 14:21 remaining in the game. Junior guard Sarah Leathers answered a Vanguard trey by drilling a long 3-pointer on the ensuing Cougar possession to cut the Lion lead to 47-45 with 12:24 to play, but after Vanguard scored 11 of the game’s next 14 points, the closest the Cougars would come the rest of the way was 5 points, and Rachel Besse scored 6 of Vanguard’s 7 points in a 2-and-a-half-minute stretch late in the half to help seal the win.
Vanguard featured 5 double-digit scorers, led by Besse’s 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field, including 14 in the second half. Schmidt and Andrea Jacobson each added 13 points for the Lions.
With the loss, Azusa Pacific’s 10-game win streak was snapped, and the Cougars drop to 12-4 overall, 4-3 in GSAC play. Vanguard improves to 12-0 overall, 7-0 in GSAC.
