Box Score AZUSA, Calif. – From beginning to end the Cougars were relentless.  

Playing one of their most complete and dominating games of the season, Azusa Pacific posted a 90-60 win over Dixie State on Saturday afternoon. 

"Today was a great effort by everyone involved," head coach T.J. Hardeman said. "We continually talk about playing with intensity for all 40 minutes no matter who is on the court. What really stood out to me was how well we played defensively and how our energy level stayed consistent throughout."

Azusa Pacific set a handful of season best efforts in the victory. Its 47.1 field goal percentage (32-for-68) was a season high as was their shooting performance from behind the arc – 7-of-12 (58.3 percent). The Cougars put a season best 10 different players into the scoring column. Defensively they forced the Red Storm into 26 turnovers; the most by a Cougar opponent during the 2014-15 campaign. 

Kelly Hardeman and Miriam Zabinsky each scored a game high 17 points while Hardeman put together her 11th double-double of the season by corralling a contest best 11 rebounds. Lauren Gilster came off the bench to score 10 points in 20 minutes in helping Azusa Pacific (11-7, 7-4 PacWest) move to 6-0 all-time against Dixie State. 

The Cougars busted open a tight contest early. Already leading 12-11 with 13:47 remaining until the halftime horn, Azusa Pacific went on a 16-5 scoring spree that was spurred on by the bench. During that critical stretch the non-starters accounted for 10 of the Cougar points as they took a 29-16 edge with just under six minutes left in the half. In last Saturday's win 13-point win at Dixie State (5-12, 4-7) the reserves didn't score a point.

"I was really pleased with how reserves played during that stretch," Hardeman said. "We feel like our practices help prepare our role players for game action and today our hard work in practice really paid off when it counted."

The Red Storm stemmed the tide momentarily but Azusa Pacific remained a rueful host as they pushed their lead and took a 43-22 advantage at intermission. During the opening 20 minutes the Cougars limited Dixie State to just an 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) shooting effort while forcing their opponents into 14 turnovers. Azusa Pacific took full advantage of those miscues as they outscored the Red Storm 15-3 in points off turnovers in the opening half. 

Azusa Pacific all but sealed the game as they stretched their lead to 50-27 early in second half. A momentum building 10-second stretch with 16:55 left in the contest began when Zabinsky blocked a Kaylah Miller jumper then Cydnie Jones hit an acrobatic twirling lay-up on the Cougars ensuing possession. Dixie State never threaten the rest of the way. 

The Cougars defensive prowess was rewarded with a 28-11 edge in points off of turnovers. Meanwhile the bench scored 31 points as they played 78 of the contest's 200 minutes. 

Chermayne Moore led all Dixie State scorers with a 13-point afternoon.

The Cougars take their game to the road after enjoying five of their last six contests inside the friendly atmosphere of the Felix Event Center.