HONOLULU – Azusa Pacific made a statement and, in the process, put themselves in position to win a PacWest championships.
With nearly a wire-to-wire 81-63 win against No. 23 Hawai'i Pacific, the Cougars are a win away from a regular season title.
The road win lifts Azusa Pacific's record to 26-3 overall and 17-2 in league contest. The Sharks record sits at 23-3 and 17-2 respectively.
FROM THE START: Aside from an early moment in the first quarter, the Cougars never trailed. A Savanna Hanson lay-up gave the squad a 13-12 lead and sparked an 11-0 scoring run to conclude the period.
In the second quarter the Sharks never pulled with a possession of taking the lead as they tried to trim their deficit. Azusa Pacific held a double figure lead for all but a few seconds in the third and fourth quarters.
DEFENSE: The Cougars limited Hawai'i Pacific to just a 28.8 shooting percentage. It is the fourth best defensive effort Azusa Pacific has had this season. Hawai'i Pacific went 17-for-59 from the floor
QUOTEABLE: "It was awesome. Great all-around team win. The team was fired up and ready to go. We were well prepared and ready to go. Defensively we did a good job of making them shoot tough shots. We made them really earn any shots they got," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "In the first half we got into a bit of foul trouble and our bench did an outstanding job of providing good energy. A sign of a good team is being able to look to your bench and keeping a high level of play going."
On Abbigail Goodsell's play … "Seniors usually have a mentally of just wanting to win a league title and tonight Abbigail worked hard on both sides of the floor. We ran a few plays in the second half that really sparked a strong second half for her."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Goodsell scored a game high 30 points on the strength of a 6-for-12 effort from behind the arc. The senior also dished out a contest best six assists.
- Hanson notched a 17-point, eight-rebound contest
- Gabrielle Kaiser scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 23 minutes
- Azusa Pacific held a 53-39 rebounding edge. It is the third straight game the Cougars grabbed at least 50 rebounds
STREAKS: The Cougars win gives them a season high eight-game winning streak. Previously, the squad had winning streaks of six and seven games.
Furthermore, the win snaps a three-game skid against Hawai'i Pacific. The last time an Azusa Pacific squad beat the Sharks came during the 2015-16 season. Hawai'i Pacific's school record 19-game win streak also came to an end.
PACWEST IMPLICATIONS: With a win on Saturday in their regular season finale at Chaminade, the Cougars are assured of at least a co-conference title with Hawai'i Pacific. Should the Sharks lose, it would give the title outright to the Cougars.
The No. 1 seed for next weekend's conference tournament in Riverside, Calif. will be decided after Saturday's games.
UP NEXT: The Cougars close out the regular season with a Saturday, Feb. 24 games at Chaminade. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. (HAST)
