BELMONT, Calif. – Winning by 38 points is hard enough. To do in consecutive games in just over a two-day period is downright impressive.
After a tight first quarter, the Azusa Pacific women's basketball team pulled away and cruised to a 98-60 win against Notre Dame de Namur on Monday evening.
On Saturday the Cougars beat Holy Names by the same count. Monday's contest was the last for the squad prior to the Christmas break. Azusa Pacific heads into their 12-day hiatus with a 13-2 overall record with a 4-1 mark in league games.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a first quarter in which the score changed hands three times, Azusa Pacific went into the second frame with a 17-16 lead. The squad's continued to go back-and-forth until just before the second quarter's midway point. Trailing 25-23 with 6:14 left until halftime, the Cougars finished the period on an 18-6 scoring spurt to take a 43-31 lead at the break.
Azusa Pacific put the game away in the third stanza. They outscored the home team 31-12 during that 10-minute stretch Notre Dame de Namur hit just four field goals and committed four turnovers. Conversely the Cougar hit 12 field goals to lengthen their lead. During the final 10 minutes the Cougars kept their substantial advantage.
A major help in the Cougars strong finish was their three-point shooting. After making just one of their first 12 attempts from behind the arc, they nailed 11 of their final 23 attempts from distance.
QUOTABLE: "I like the way we got after it tonight. Our defense made them uncomfortable and when we started to hit our stride offensively, the momentum just continued in our favor," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "Heading into Christmas I like were we are at. Certainly I'd like to be undefeated but we are getting better each day and understanding how to play better as a team."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Abbigail Goodsell had a team high 23 points while dishing eight assists
- Gabrielle Kaiser went 6-for-8 from the field en route to a 14-point effort
- Casey Wortley contributed 12 points
- Savanna Hanson just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds
- Azusa Pacific went 14-for-17 from the foul line (82.4 percent) to post their second best shoot percentage from the charity stripe this season
UP NEXT: The Cougars travel to Concordia on Saturday, Dec. 30
