RIVERSIDE, Calif. – With the Academy Awards just around the corner, Saturday evening's top-25 showdown between bitter rivals was just as dramatic as any best picture nominee.
In a game that came down to the closing seconds, fifth ranked California Baptist did just enough to record a 63-62 win against No. 24 Azusa Pacific.
"I'm proud of our effort. Certainly we would have liked to win but we played good defensive intensity and energy," head coach T.J. Hardeman said. "There were things I wish we would have done better offensively but our effort was there tonight."
The win enacted a measure of revenge for the Lancers who lost their only game of the season to the Cougars five weeks ago as they up their record to 15-1 overall and 7-1 in PacWest game. The setback was the first league loss for the Cougars as they fall to 12-3 and 6-1 respectively.
The game saw each team play well offensively in spurts then fall into a shooting funk. One thing the game didn't lack for was excitement, and even a level of madness, for the 957 attendees in the jammed back confines of Van Dyne Gym.
Miriam Zabinsky scored a team high 12 points in 33 minutes while Kelly Hardeman recorded yet another double-double (11 points, 15 rebounds) to aid in the Cougars efforts. Allison Greene's 11-point evening rounded out the double figure scorers.
Cassidy Mihalko led all scorers with a 24-point performance to pace the Lancers.
Despite giving up the first six points of the game, the Cougars responded quite well as they held a 16-11 lead after a pair of Jones free throws with 3:41 left in the first quarter. The home team didn't regain the lead but was able to tie the score at 21-21 after the opening 10 minutes.
Azusa Pacific took back their lead and went up 31-25 with just under six minutes left in the quarter. Both teams went cold from the field as neither team put a point on the board for nearly four minutes. The drought was broken on a pair of Hardeman free throws with 2:07 left until intermission. The pair from the charity stripe gave the visitors their largest lead at that point 33-25. The Cougars took a 36-30 lead into the locker room.
The Cougars stretched their lead back to eight points (47-39) on a Zabinsky jumper less with 6:09 left in the third quarter. The home team responded with a 11-2 scoring spurt as they regained the lead 51-49 on a pair of Cassidy Mihalko free throws 2:27 remaining in the period. The final moments remained close down the stretch of the quarter which closed with an Erin Asher three pointer in the final seconds giving California Baptist a 57-56 lead at the close of the quarter.
During the opening 3:50 of the final quarter the basket had a lid on it as neither team scored. California Baptist scored the first four points of the frame as they held a 61-56 lead with just over five minutes left. The reliance of the Cougars showed through as they retook the lead 62-61 on a Jones running lay-up with just under three minutes left.
Mihalko gave her team the lead back with 2:50 left on a lay-up. The home team continued to hold that 63-62 lead as the closing minutes ticked away. After a Cougars shot clock violation with 30 seconds left the ball over to the Lancers, the home team gave it right back with a miscue of their own seconds later to set-up the dramatic conclusion. Allison Greene drove the lane with the clock winding down but couldn't convert the lay-up as the Lancers grabbed the rebound. With four fouls to give before sending the Lancers into the bonus at the foul line, California Baptist was able to run the clock to zeros as they sealed the win.
Azusa Pacific returns to the court with a Monday evening match-up against Notre Dame de Namur at the Felix Event Center at 5:30 p.m.
