Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Overcoming a slow start the Cougars put themselves back into the win column with a 75-71 road win at Dominican on Tuesday evening.

A close contest throughout, neither team held an edge larger than nine points as the lead changed hands six times and was tied on for other occasions. 

"When you have a young team like we have, it takes some time to figure things outs on the court. But more than anything else we were able to give good effort and that will go a long way into getting the result we all wanted," said head coach T.J. Hardeman.

Azusa Pacific gave solid effort down low as they held a plus-nine rebounding edge. They grabbed 17 offensive rebounds which they translated into 23 second chance points.

A trio of players led the way in the scoring column. Miriam Zabinsky went 8-for-15 from the floor to score a game high 19 points in 36 minutes. Katie Powell chipped in 15 points on the strength of four made three-pointers.

Kelly Hardeman added her sixth double-double of the season with an 18-point, 12-rebound evening. 

The Cougars found themselves down nine points at 28-19 with just over five minutes left in the first half. However, the Azusa Pacific (6-4, 2-1 PacWest) fought back and took a brief lead at 33-32 after a Zabinsky three-pointer with 41 ticks left in the half. However, the Penguins hit the final bucket of the half as they went into the locker room with a 34-33 advantage. 

During that first half Powell played a major role in keeping the Cougars in the contest. She went 4-for-5 from behind the arc in helping her to a 15-point opening stanza.

"Katie's play in the first half was really important for us. Their defense was shutting down some other options for us but Katie's shooting helped keep us in the contest," Hardeman said.

The first several minutes of the second half were back-and-forth until the Cougars took the lead for good when Zabinsky hit a jumper with 16:28 remaining to give her squad a 39-37 edge. Dominican (5-4, 2-1) tied the score at 44-44 with 11:48 left on a pair of Allyssa Weatherd foul shots.

From that point forward the Cougars crept ahead and took their largest lead of the night 65-56 with 3:07 on a Zabinsky lay-up. The home team continued to fight and got within a single possession on three occasions in the final minute. However, the Cougars hit eight of the final nine foul shots to help them seal the win. 

The Cougars continue their swing through the Bay Area with a 5:30 p.m. contest on Thursday against Notre Dame de Namur.