FRESNO, Calif. – The Cougars made some history on Monday afternoon.

With their 84-50 win against Fresno Pacific, the No. 18 Azusa Pacific women's basketball team posted the best start to a season in Cougar lore.

The Cougars are 18-2 for the first-time in school history. Previously the best 20-game start for an Azusa Pacific was 17-3 which was accomplished twice. They are now 9-1 in PacWest games which ties the best 10-game league record for the squad.

DEFENSE IS HOW IT HAPPENED: After Fresno Pacific made five field goals in the first quarter, the Cougars held the home to just two made field goals in the second and third periods combined. In the second period, the Sunbirds didn't hit their only basket until there were 36 seconds left in the frame.

Azusa Pacific was down a point (16-15) to start the second stanza but outscored Fresno Pacific 26-6 during those 10 minutes in taking a 42-22 lead at intermission.

For the game Azusa Pacific held Fresno Pacific to just a 28.3 percent (15-for-53) shooting effort marking the third time this season the Cougars have held an opponents under 30 percent from the floor. Entering the final period, Fresno Pacific had made less than 20 percent of their attempts.

The Cougars forced the Sunbirds (8-11, 6-5 PacWest) into 24 turnovers which they converted into 24 points.

AND … OFFENSE TOO: Azusa Pacific was steady as 20 of their 33 made field goals were assisted on. They were consistent before and after halftime. The Cougars hit 17 shots in the first and second quarters then 16 in the last two quarters. For the 10th time this year, Azusa Pacific nailed at least 10 shots from behind the arc as they went 10-for-27 on three-point attempts.

QUOTEABLE: "When we are playing right, we are running like a Cadillac," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "Today we made them uncomfortable on their offensive possession and we did a great job on our offensive end of the court as well."

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

- Abbigail Goodsell flirted with a triple-double for the second straight game. The senior scored a game high 23 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. She did that in 29 minutes.
- In her homecoming game, Central Valley native Zoe March scored 10 points and corralled six rebounds
- Ten different players scored in double figures
- Casey Wortley came off the bench to score eight points and grab a game high nine rebounds
- With 12 steals, the Cougars have now had at least 10 steals in a game on 13 occasions

100-POINT SCORERS: During the game Samantha Huddleston scored her 100th point of the season during her eight-point afternoon. She is the ninth person to score at least 100 points for the squad. It is only the second time in program history a Cougar squad has had nine 100-point scorers.

UP NEXT: The Cougars host Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in what could be a game that helps decide the PacWest title. Heading into the week both teams had just one conference loss while all other teams had at least three.