SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Three players recorded double-doubles to lead Azusa Pacific to an impressive 87-66 victory over Dominican in a battle between PacWest unbeatens Monday night in San Rafael.
Laura Pranger led the way with season-highs in scoring and rebounding with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Daylee Hanson added career-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Savanna Hanson made it a trio of double-doubles for the PacWest-leading Cougars, notching her fifth of the year with 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
With the win, Azusa Pacific extended its PacWest winning streak to 16 games while handing Dominican its first PacWest defeat of the season. The Cougars improved to 9-3 overall and 6-0 in PacWest play, while the Penguins fall to 6-2 overall, 4-1 PacWest. Azusa Pacific has scored at least 80 points in 12 of the 16 games of its current PacWest winning streak, which goes back to the final 10 games of the 2017-18 conference schedule.
How It Happened: The Cougars rallied from a first-quarter deficit with a 24-10 second quarter which resulted in a double-digit halftime lead, 44-33. Azusa Pacific extended the lead by five more points in the third quarter and led by at least 15 points the entire fourth quarter before pulling away for the final 21-point margin of victory.
Turning Point: Dominican took a 23-15 lead in the final minute of the opening quarter for its largest advantage of the game, but Alex Lowden answered with a three-pointer and Daylee Hanson sank a pair of free throws with half a second left in the frame to slash the lead to 23-20. Hanson then scored the first eight points of the second quarter to finish off a 13-0 run that gave the Cougars the lead for good.
Midway through the second quarter, Dominican pulled within two, 30-28, but Rachel Bozlee answered with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. Her three-ball sparked a 14-5 run over the rest of the quarter to give Azusa Pacific a 44-33 halftime lead.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: Pranger helped Azusa Pacific dominate the paint at both ends, with her 11 rebounds contributing to the Cougars' commanding 55-26 rebounding margin while she also registered a season-high seven blocked shots. She hit 13-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-5 three-pointers, and Daylee Hanson collected four steals to go with her 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. Savanna Hanson hit 6-of-10 from the field, including all three of her three-point attempts. Freshman point guard Alex Lowden came off the bench to provide seven points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Dominican Standouts: Natalie Diaz entered the game averaging 31.6 points per game to lead all of NCAA Division II in scoring, and she finished with a team-high 21 points but picked up three first-quarter fouls and was limited to 25 minutes of action before she eventually fouled out late in the game. Alanna Scott added 15 points, and Vanessa Cruz scored 13 points with seven assists.
By The Numbers: Azusa Pacific shot 48 percent (31-for-65) overall, including a 50 percent (10-for-20) clip from three-point range… The Cougars shot 60 percent or better in the second and fourth quarters, hitting 9-of-15 (60%) in the second quarter and 9-of-14 (64%) in the fourth to put the game away… The Cougars hit 7-of-9 three-pointers in the second half… In addition to the 55-26 overall rebounding margin, Azusa Pacific outrebounded Dominican at its own hoop, collecting 19 offensive rebounds while the Penguins pulled down 18 defensive boards… The rebounding difference led Azusa Pacific to an 18-2 edge in second chance points.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific wraps up its stretch of five consecutive road games with a Wednesday, Dec. 19 visit to Academy of Art for its third game in five days. The Cougars return to action after the New Year with back-to-back home games against Concordia (Jan. 5) and Point Loma (Jan. 7).
