BELMONT, Calif. – Even with a double-figure loss, there was a small silver lining for the Cougars to take comfort in.
Despite falling to Notre Dame de Namur 89-74 on Thursday, Azusa Pacific did clinch a spot in next week's PacWest tournament.
Heading into the two-game Bay Area trip the Cougars held their own destiny for the No. 4 seed but with Thursday's setback, Azusa Pacific is a four-team fight for seeds four, five and six. (PacWest Standings)
The Cougars offense clicked at a solid level on Thursday, as they hit near their season averages for field goal percentage and turnovers. Azusa Pacific (14-13, 12-7 PacWest) connected of 40.5 percent (30-for-74) while turning the ball over 13 times – almost four less than the season average. However, Notre Dame de Namur hit half of their 20 attempts from behind the arc while going 30-for-61 from the floor. They committed just 11 turnovers.
For Azusa Pacific, Gabrielle Kaiser scored a team best 24 points while Abigail Goodsell posted a double-double with a 12-point, 11-assist evening. She was one rebound away from a triple-double. Rachel Bozlee came off the bench to hit four three-pointers en route to her 14 points.
Notre Dame de Namur took the lead midway through the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game. After a closely played first quarter, the contest broke open for the home team in the second period. With the score knotted at 19-19 after a Kaiser lay-up early in the stanza, Notre Dame de Namur (14-12, 12-7) scored 18 unanswered points. During that six-plus minute stretch, the Cougars committed five turnovers and missed eight field goal attempts.
Entering the third quarter with a 41-26 deficit, Azusa Pacific got within single digits (43-34) after a Casey Wortley lay-up with 7:15 left in the frame. Unfortunately the Argonauts scored 14 of the next 16 points to all but put the game away. They eventually took a 27-point lead (67-40) just before the end of the quarter. Azusa Pacific got as close as 14 points in the fourth quarter but never poised a threat down the stretch.