ORANGE, Calif. – The early start to the season certainly had no ill-effect for Azusa Pacific.
Completing their third game in just over 48 hours, the Cougars beat Young Harris (Ga.) 87-76 on Sunday morning to close out the NCAA Division II Tip-Off Classic.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Just like the first two games of the classic, Azusa Pacific held the lead for over 90 percent of the game. Aside from an early deficit less than a minute into the game, the Cougars held the advantage.
Azusa Pacific grew their lead to as large as 51-30 early in the third quarter. Young Harris was able to pull within single digits in the fourth frame but could never get closer than two possessions down the stretch.
30 POINT EFFORT: Savanna Hanson scored a game high 30 points to pace the Cougars. The last Cougar to score at least 30 in a game was Abbigail Goodsell last season against California Baptist. Hanson went 8-for-16 from the floor and hit 11 of her 15 free throw attempts en route to her high scoring day.
DE-FENSE: The Cougars forced Young Harris into 27 turnovers which they turned into a 33-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Gabrielle Kaiser scored in double figures with the third straight day with 18 points
- Casey Wortley went 6-for-8 from the floor to round out the double figure scorers with 12
- The Cougars had 24 assists – led by Zoe March's nine – on their 32 made field goals
- Every player who dressed for Azusa Pacific got into the contest
3-0 START: Winning three straight to start the season is nothing new for the Cougars. It is the third time in the last four seasons an Azusa Pacific squad has accomplished the feat.
QUOTEABLE: "It was good to play in an early season event like this. We normally wouldn't play teams like this so it was good to get a feel for what is happening in other regions," head coach T.J. Hardeman said. "Moving forward, we have some good competition this weekend. We may have a bit of advantage since we played early but Cal Poly Pomona is a good team and they are going to be a good challenge on Friday."
UP NEXT: Azusa Pacific begins the home portion of their schedule as they host Cal Poly Pomona on Friday at 5 p.m. The game is apart of the two-day, four-team CCAA/PacWest Challenge. Cal State Dominguez Hill and Point Loma will also take part.
