POMONA, Calif. – A pair of veteran newcomers helped pace the Cougars to an opening victory against Cal Poly Pomona 69-44 on Friday evening.

After taking redshirts last season, Allison Greene and Joelle Tampien stepped right back onto the court like nothing had changed as they scored 11 and eight points respectively.

Cydnie Jones led the way for the Cougars with a 13-point, seven-assist effort. Miriam Zabinsky rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points.

A slow start from the Cougars was nullified with an improved second half. After hitting just 30 percent (10-for-30) of their shots in the first half, Azusa Pacific rallied for a 43.8 percent (14-of-32) shooting performance in the final 20 minutes.

Azusa Pacific had the green light from long distance as they took 30 shots from behind the arc; connecting on 10 of them.

A host of three-pointers helped give the Cougars an early 13-4 edge just over six minutes into the game. A rough shooting first quarter led to just 24 total points as Azusa Pacific held a 15-9 edge after 10 minutes. During that first frame, the Broncos connected on three of their 17 field goal attempts while Azusa Pacific went 5-for-14 from the floor.

Although the Cougars couldn't quite find their stroke in the next 10 minutes they still played solid defense. Azusa Pacific limited the Broncos to just two fields as they grew their lead to 30-19 at intermission.

The Cougars came out hitting their shots in the third quarter as the Cougars opened up a 39-22 edge after a Zabinsky three-pointer. The home got their deficit into single digits at 44-35 with just over two minutes left. A late bucket by Greene pushed the Azusa Pacific back into double figures (46-35) before the end of the period.

Azusa Pacific scored the first eight points of the final quarter capped off by a Hardeman three-pointer then a Dumphy jumper in the paint. With 6:42 remaining the Broncos were forced into a timeout as Azusa Pacific took their largest lead of the game at that point 53-35. The stoppage didn't faze the Cougars as Hardeman hit another shot from distance followed by a Zabinsky long range shot and the rout was on.

The CCAA/PacWest Challenges continues tomorrow in Pomona for the Cougars as they face NCAA Tournament participant Cal State Dominguez Hills at 4 p.m.