AZUSA, Calif. -- With this weekend's clash with the NAIA's top-ranked Vanguard looming, it might have been easy for the NAIA's No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific to look past a Fresno Pacific squad that had lost 3 straight Golden State Athletic Conference contests. However, 7 different Cougars scored 8 or more points, including 5 who registered double figures, leading Azusa Pacific to an 89-67 win over the Sunbirds Tuesday evening at the Felix Event Center.
Senior guard Monica Somers led the way with 19 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line. Senior guard Kristy Urbick added 14 points and a career-high 7 rebounds, while junior forward Abby Johnson posted her fourth double-double of the season. Johnson tied a season-high with 12 rebounds to lead the Cougars' 49-32 edge on the boards.
"We knew they were an athletic team and that we had to box them out in order to rebound well," said Johnson. "Tonight we were focused and we knew we had to beat Fresno Pacific before we could prepare for Saturday."
Azusa Pacific jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind a pair of baskets from Urbick, led by double-digits within 7 minutes at 15-5 and took its largest lead of the half at 46-23 on a Johnson layup with just under a minute to play before halftime.
Senior guard Alyssa Ferdaszewski came off the bench after starting each of the first 13 games, and she provided a spark with an 11-point, 7-rebound performance.
"Coming off the bench puts you in a great spot because you're able to bring that spark, and you're able to see a little bit of what's going on before you're actually in there," said Ferdaszewski. "I might have brought a spark, but that's just the intensity I try to bring when I'm starting, too."
Ferdaszewski came up with a team-high 4 of Azusa Pacific's 11 steals, as the Cougar defense forced 17 Fresno Pacific turnovers.
"If four people play defense and one person doesn't, then it breaks down," said Ferdaszewski. "With me getting steals tonight, that just means five people were up playing defense the whole time, and it just happened to be my turn to get the steals. We were all pressuring the ball and causing turnovers. It wasn't necessarily me being in good position or anticipating, it had more to do with everybody playing defense and doing their job."
Senior forward Meliame Hala'ufia and freshman center Kristel Eddington each made 3-of-5 from the field and sank a pair of free throws for 8 points apiece. Junior guard Sarah Leathers rounded out Azusa Pacific's double-digit scorers, tallying 10 points and a game-high 4 assists.
"Rebounding is a focus we have every day, and I think finally it's starting to click with the team," said Cougar head coach Danelle Bishop. "Before the game, we talked about taking care of the ball and rebounding, and I thought tonight we did a really good job on both."
The Sunbirds closed to within 16 points at 75-59 with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, but Somers knocked down her final pair of free throws and Eddington pushed the lead back to 20 points at 79-59 with 3:52 left. After 4 more Fresno Pacific free throws cut the lead back down to 16 points with 3:34 to go, but the Cougars scored 10 of the game's final 14 points to seal their 10th straight win.
Fresno Pacific was led by Katie Williams, who entered the game averaging a conference-best 23 points per game in GSAC play. She needed 11 second-half points to record a team-high 15 points after the Sunbirds shot just 25 percent (9-for-36) from the field in the opening half. Brooke Stanley added 12 points, and Kari Cox added 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for the Sunbirds.
"What's surprising to me is we're still not very good at communicating on defense, but I think we just hustle and get to our spots, eventually we get there," said Bishop. "I think we pressure the ball really well, and I think that's what contributes to other teams not shooting well against us."
With the win, Azusa Pacific extends its overall winning streak to 10 games and its conference win streak to 4 games after an 0-2 start to GSAC play, giving the Cougars a 12-3 overall mark, 4-2 in GSAC play. Fresno Pacific drops its fourth straight conference game to fall to 11-5 overall, 2-5 in GSAC play. Azusa Pacific visits 4-time defending GSAC champion Vanguard, currently the NAIA's top-ranked team and owners of a 32-game conference win streak.
