Box Score BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Just four games into the season, the Azusa Pacific women's basketball team is making their presence known among some of the best the region has to offer.
Playing their third opponent who qualified for last season's NCAA Division II Championships, the Cougars came out on top with a hard fought 79-74 victory over #21 Western Washington on Friday.
With the win the Cougars move their record to 4-0. In addition to Friday's win they also beat Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills; both of whom represented the eight-team west region portion of the NCAA Championship bracket in 2014.
Azusa Pacific is the first non-conference team to beat Western Washington on their home floor since the 2008-09 season.
"Tonight's victory was an all-around team effort. It didn't matter who the five were on the floor they resolved to play hard and give a great effort," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "Western Washington is a really good team, especially on their home floor, and they certainly made us earn the victory. The game could have gone either way but our resolve not to lose was incredible tonight."
Maggie Dumphy put together her best game of the young season with a 14-point, 11-rebound evening in 35 minutes of court time. Kelly Hardeman also chipped-in a double-double performance with 17 points and 11 rebounds while blocking three shots.
Except for a few minutes during the opening half, the Cougars never trailed but had to fight to get the win. In the first stanza they had to fight tooth-and-nail throughout. Their biggest lead in the initial frame came after Cydnie Jones converted a lay-up less than three minutes into the game to give her squad an 8-3 edge. The Vikings stayed within one possession of taking the lead a majority of the half but couldn't gain the edge on the scoreboard. Azusa Pacific took a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the break the Cougars scored the first seven points of the half as they grabbed a 46-35. Western Washington chipped away at their deficit and cut the Cougars lead to 57-55 with 10:39 left in the contest after a pair of foul shots from Taylor Peacocke.
Azusa Pacific continued to hold onto a slim lead and despite their offense going cold for a stretch their defense stayed feisty. During a 3:31 period that began just after the second half's midway point, the team's combined to miss 11 straight shots. That scoreless drought came to an end when Miriam Zabinsky nailed a jumper to give the Cougars a 63-59 edge with 5:16 left. A Jones free throw and another field from Zabinsky put Azusa Pacific in front 66-59 as the scoreboard read 4:17 remaining.
The home team had one more run in them. Peacocke added two more points to her game high 29 points with 1:12 remaining to cut the Cougars lead to 71-69. Azusa Pacific countered with four unanswered points as they grew their lead to 75-69 with under a minute remaining. The Vikings kept things interesting as a three-pointer by Katie Colard with 39 seconds left kept the home team close.
Azusa was able to keep the Vikings at arm's length by hitting their next four free throw attempts. The game was sealed in the closing seconds. With 14 ticks left on the clock and Azusa Pacific clinging to a 77-74 lead, Hardeman sank the first free throw but missed the second. Fortunately the Cougars corralled the rebound and Jones iced the game with a 1-for-2 effort from the charity stripe.
Azusa Pacific has less than 24 hours to turn around as they conclude the West Region crossover classic tomorrow with a 5:00 p.m. contest against Seattle Pacific.
