IRVINE, Calif. -- It wasn’t the contest the Cougars thought it would be, but the NAIA’s No. 15-ranked Azusa Pacific escaped with a 65-57 road victory over Concordia Saturday evening, thanks to another dominant performance by Monica Somers.
The senior guard scored 25 points, including 8-of-10 from the free throw line, and she helped the Cougars overcome a 37 percent first-half shooting performance (11-for-30) with 16 points in the second half.
“I don’t we think we came out with the intensity we needed to in the first half,” said Somers. “In the second half, we knew we needed to reverse the ball and work our offense if we had a chance to win this game. We can’t afford to take anyone in the conference for granted.”
Azusa Pacific trailed by as many as 7 points in the opening half, but junior guard Sarah Leathers drained her second 3-pointer in a 3-minute span to spark an extended 20-7 run that spanned the remainder of the first half and the first 2 and a half minutes of the second half, giving the Cougars a 34-28 lead early in the second half.
Unlike Azusa Pacific’s 20-point win over the Eagles just over 2 months ago in Azusa, the Cougars had difficulty putting Concordia away. After Savanna Anderson traded baskets with Somers, Anderson scored 4 straight to spark a 9-0 Concordia run that turned the tables for a 39-36 Concordia lead with 13:05 remaining in the game.
“I thought Concordia played very well, and they played with true heart,” said Cougar head coach Danelle Bishop. “Our girls saw the way they played and realized that’s how we need to play if we want to continue to be successful.”
After senior guard Alyssa Ferdaszewski nailed a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 39-38, senior guard Kristy Urbick knocked down a crucial 3-pointer that gave Azusa Pacific a 41-38 lead, and the Cougars never trailed again. A pair of Anderson free throws tied it at 41-41, but Kathryn Taylor’s putback and a subsequent Somers trey gave Azusa Pacific the lead for good. Somers scored 12 of the Cougars’ final 22 points to help seal the victory.
“Monica is just playing at a different level right now,” said Bishop. “I thought she could have gotten to the free throw line a few more times in the first half, but she did a great job all night getting to the basket and leading the team.”
The performance was Somers’ 12th 20-point game of the season, and it was the 15th time she posted the team-high scoring total. Ferdaszewski was the only other Cougar in double figures, shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe to finish with 12 points. Junior forward Abby Johnson was 1 point short of her seventh double-double, finishing with 9 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 18-4 on the season, 10-3 in GSAC play, while Concordia drops to 10-11 overall, 5-8 in GSAC. The Cougars return home to host Hope International Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.
