AZUSA, Calif. – Victories involving a school record are extra special.
On Saturday afternoon Azusa Pacific nailed 19 shots from behind the arc en route to 87-59 win against Dixie State.
The previous school record was 17 set in 2006 against California Baptist. The triumph lifts the Cougars record to 4-7 overall and 2-1 in PacWest games. Dixie State remains winless on the year after their ninth game.
"We played with a good flow the entire game. This team has a bunch of good three-point shooters and when we play within our system we can get open shots. Today we were fortunate enough to be consistent in our shots from long range," said head coach T.J. Hardeman.
Leading the shooting bonanza was freshman guard Rachel Bozlee. She nailed a team high six shots from distance while coming off the bench in 19 minutes of court time. All 18 of her points came from three-point shots. Abigail Goodsell was just behind her by converting five three-pointers during her team high 19-point performance.
Post Game Interview with Zoe March and Rachel Bozlee
The Cougars built their lead using strong defense in the opening quarter. Dixie State was forced into 11 turnovers which led to 15 points from Azusa Pacific. The home squad built a 22-9 edge after the first frame. A strong shooting effort in the second quarter pretty much put the game away. The home team hit 56.3 percent of their field goal attempts, their best quarter of the season, as they built a 48-22 edge.
In helping the Cougars to their season high points for half, Bozlee went 5-for-8 from behind the arc as she scored 15 points in just eight minutes during the first two stanzas. As a team the Cougars knocked down 11 of their first 21 shots from three-point land to open the game in building their lead.
Azusa Pacific was never threatened in the second half as they took aim at the three-point record. The winning shot from deep came when Chloe Nakamoto scored her first collegiate points with just over two minutes left in the game.
The Cougars take the next several days off for finals week. Azusa Pacific next takes to the hardwood on Monday, Dec. 19 against Holy Names at 1 p.m.
