SAN DIEGO – There was a lot going against Azusa Pacific heading into the game and they fought through adversity during the game.
In the end the Cougars came out with a victory to start PacWest play by topping Point Loma 61-50 on Thursday evening.
The win snaps a three-game losing streak in Golden Gym for the Cougars. Coming into the game no player on the squad has won in the building. The last Azusa Pacific victory at Point Loma came on Jan 17, 2012.
In Thursday's win the Cougars found themselves with the lead for over 35 minutes and held an edge as large as 13 points but it was a battle until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
"We stressed the whole time to not focus on the outcome but focus on each play. Play hard and do what you can do. Our mentality is to play hard and play under control," head coach T.J. Hardeman said. "I was proud of the girls tonight. We prepared well all week and we never put our heads down despite some adversities and came away with a nice victory."
Kelly Hardeman posted her fifth double-double of the season, and her third straight, with games highs in points (15) and rebounds (12). Miriam Zabinsky also scored in double figures with a 13-point night. Just as importantly Allison Greene and Elana Ala each dished out six assists.
"Anytime you play a game with 23 baskets and you had 19 assists it means you had a nice team effort. We found each other and it was really good to see that," Hardeman said.
While the Cougars had a tough time finding the bottom of the basket with their season low point total, their defense effort was stout. Azusa Pacific limited the Sea Lions to a 32.1 percent from the floor and allowed them to connect on just two of their 20 shots from behind the arc. The Cougars held a 20-11 edge in points off turnovers.
"It was a nice defensive effort. I thought we put them in situations that put them in uncomfortable spots and that big with a team like Point Loma who can really score the ball when they are running their offense comfortably," Hardeman said.
Both teams came out with their shooting shoes ready to go but both teams had a tough time finding the bottom of the basket. At the game's first stoppage with four minutes left in the first quarter, they combined to make just three of the contest's first 20 attempts. Azusa Pacific held a 7-2 edge at that point. At the quarter's end, the Cougars held a 12-9 lead.
At the start of the second quarter the Cougars got their shooting stroke down as they hit six of their first 10 field goals and with 5:50 left in the stanza, Miriam Zabinsky hit a three-pointer. Azusa Pacific held a 25-15 lead at that point. The Cougars stretched the lead to 30-17 after a Hardeman shot from behind the arc two minutes later. Azusa Pacific took a 30-23 lead at the intermission
Point Loma shook off their deficit as they got within a 30-29 and had two possessions to take their first lead of the game but couldn't. Eventually the home team tied it at 33-33 and again at 38-38 but the Cougars did enough despite a tough shooting quarter to keep the lead. The Cougars hit just five of their 17 attempts in that 10-minute stretch but held a 42-40 lead.
The Sea Lions eventually got their lead at 46-44 with an Alex Brunk lay-up with 8:20 remaining. A tense few minutes ensued as the Cougars got back in front and at the first timeout of the quarter Azusa Pacific was in front 53-48 with 3:36 left. Despite a few anxious moments, Azusa Pacific never let the Sea Lions closer than five points down the stretch to secure the victory.
Azusa Pacific hosts No. 2 and rival California Baptist on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.
