Box Score SAN DIEGO – Azusa Pacific overcame a bit of a slow start then held on late for a 64-62 victory against Cal State San Bernardino on Friday afternoon at the UC San Diego Thanksgiving Classic.
With the win the Cougars move to 6-1. Azusa Pacific will look to solidify their non-conference and west region record with another victory tomorrow against tournament host UC San Diego at 3 p.m.
"We struggled shooting from the floor and free throw but our effort was wonderful. We played hard. We could have gotten down mentally early but we didn't it was good to see us play with resiliency," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "They are athletic and kept the pressure on us so give them credit."
Kelly Hardeman continued to be a double-double machine with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort. It was her third effort of 10 or more points and rebounds this season. Allison Greene scored a team high 14 points in 29 minutes. Despite being plagued by foul trouble Cydnie Jones put up a solid 13-point, eight-rebound, four-assist score line in just 20 minutes.
"There were a lot of hustle plays that were huge from whoever we played. In addition to our scorers I was really pleased with how Elena and Allison handled the point guard duties when called up," Hardeman said.
A slow start saw the Cougars trail by as many as 11 points at 19-8 near the end of the opening quarter. Azusa Pacific proceeded to score 16 straight points to take a 24-19 lead at the midway point of the second quarter. Azusa Pacific, while certainly tested, never trailed again. Cal State San Bernardino hit the final field goal of the opening half as the teams went into the intermission with Azusa Pacific leading 31-28.
The third quarter saw the Cougars extend their lead to seven points twice but a pesky Coyotes squad continued to hang around as they were down 45-40 with 10 minutes left. A Miriam Zabinsky three-pointer with three minutes left gave the Cougars a seemingly comfortable 61-54 lead. However, the Cougars connected on just one of their field goal attempts in addition to going 1-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
A frantic final minute ensued. A lay-in by Brianna Harden brought Cal State San Bernardino with 64-60 with just under a minute left. The Cougars turned the ball over on their ensuing possession before Alexcia Mack made a pair of foul shots to get the Coyotes' deficit down to 64-62. With 11 ticks on the clock Azusa Pacific missed a three-pointer and the Coyotes looked to tie or take the lead with the final possession. However, a Mack lay-in was blocked by Dumphy and a Chelsea Barnes shot with a second left didn't fall.
Cal State San Bernardino rally was helped nine second half Cougar turnovers which the Coyotes converted into 13 points. Conversely, Azusa Pacific's lead was built, in part, during the first half by outscoring Cal State San Bernardino 13-2 in the first half.
Barnes led all scorers on Thursday with a 22-point day on the strength of a 10-for-12 shooting effort.
