RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In a game that featured many lead changes early, it was solid play in the ladder half that made the difference.
California Baptist played steady during final two periods as they posted an 81-71 victory against Azusa Pacific on Saturday evening.
The score sheet indicated a close contest as each team had the same number of field goals (28), made three-pointers (8), rebounds (39) and assists (17). California Baptist went 17-for-20 while the Cougars hit seven of their 11 attempts. Azusa Pacific committed just two more foul than their count parts (18-16) while turning the ball over 18 times compared to the 17 the Lancers committed.
"I told the girls after the game that they have nothing to hangs their heads for," head coach T.J. Hardeman said. "Tonight we showed the kind of upside we possess because we played well but we know we can play better. We are still getting used to all facets of how we play together but today's game was a step forward."
For third time this season, and the second straight game, Gabrielle Kaiser led the team in scoring with a 20-point effort on the strength of an 8-for-14 shooting effort. Casey Wortley was second on the team with 12 points with Abigail Kaiser recoding 11 points and a team best eight rebounds.
Off the bench Annanya Raghavan scored a career high 10 points, aiding by three made shots from distance, in five minutes of court time.
Three separate scoring runs highlighted the first 10 minutes. An opening scoring burst to start the game gave the Cougars a 10-7 lead before three minutes ticked off the clock. The home team responded strongly by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to take a 10-ponit lead (22-12). Azusa Pacific finished the period with six unanswered points on three-pointers from Goodsell and Casey Wortley.
The Cougars point streak continued early in the second quarter, and after a Raghavan shot from deep, the Cougars retook the lead (26-25). The solid offensive output continued as the Cougars built their lead to 41-34 with 2:40 remaining after a Samantha Huddleston lay-in. California Baptist rallied and hit a shot lay-up at the buzzer to cut their halftime deficit to 44-40. During the period the Cougars scored 26 points – the second best quarter of the season.
To start the third frame, the Cougars had a handful of empty possessions as California Baptist went ahead 47-44 – they wouldn't relinquish the lead. With 2:58 left Emma Meriggioli nailed a shot from behind the arc which gave the Lancers their largest lead of the frame at 56-48. As the period wound down California Baptist pushed ahead a bit more as they took a 10-point lead (64-54) into the final stanza.
During the last quarter the Lancers kept the Azusa Pacific comeback attempt at arm's length. The Cougars couldn't get their deficit under eight points as California Baptist won its sixth straight home game against Azusa Pacific.
Saturday's game ended the Cougars nine-game road stretch to start the season. On Tuesday Azusa Pacific hosts future PacWest, and former Golden State Athletic Conference, foe Biola at 7 p.m.
