SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – A great individual effort help lead to an excellent team trip.
With Kelly Hardeman scoring a career high the Cougars posted an 88-81 victory against Dominican to complete their three-game Bay Area road trip undefeated.
The victory keeps the 25th ranked Cougars in a tie for first-place in the PacWest with a 10-1 record. Overall their record stands at 16-3.
Hardeman scored a career high 33 points as she went 13-for-23 from the floor, including hitting five shots from behind the arc, while playing all but two minutes. Her point total is the 12th best single game scoring mark in school history. The senior also grabbed 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season.
"The girls did a good job of finding her and getting into open spaces. It was obvious she was on. I asked her to be the shooter and get into open spaces," T.J. Hardeman said.
Cydnie Jones continued her strong offensive output with a 15-point evening. The senior nearly had a double-double but fell one rebound short. Maggie Dumphy chipped-in 10 points and five blocks to aid in the victory. Allison Greene handed out a team best six assists.
The Cougars remained perfect in nine all-time meetings against Dominican. It is the sixth road win in the series. Azusa Pacific's defense was stellar as it forced the Penguins into 22 turnovers which lead to a 27-12 edge in points off turnovers.
"Dominican hung right there until to then. It's hard to beat when they are shooting well but we did pressure them and forced them into turnovers. We feel good when we make a team play at our tempo and I thought we did that this evening," T.J. Hardeman said.
After a closely contested opening quarter the Cougars slowly nudged ahead in the second frame. Leading 17-16 at the start of the period, Azusa Pacific used a scoring spurt midway through stanza to take a 33-25 lead with 4:38 left until intermission. A Hardeman three-pointer capped that scoring run in taking their largest of game at that point. The home team closed the gap a bit as the Cougars took a 45-40 lead into the locker room.
That five-point lead was quickly turned into a double figure advantage (56-44) early in the third quarter. Hardeman scored all but nine points during the Cougars 11-4 scoring run during the first 3:46. As the third period expired, Hardeman had 15 points in the frame as her team took a 69-58 lead into the final quarter.
Dominican fought to trim their deficit and when Alanna Scott hit a three-pointer with just over three minutes left, the Penguin were down 83-75.But this was Hardeman's night as she scored on the Cougars next possession for her 31st point to break her previous career high total.
Azusa Pacific returns to the friendly confines of the Felix Event Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Fresno Pacific
