AZUSA, Calif. – Led by hot hands from long range, Azusa Pacific extended its program-record PacWest Conference winning streak to 19 games with an 86-72 victory over Point Loma Monday night, as the Cougars improved to 12-3 overall and solidified control of the PacWest standings lead with a 9-0 conference mark.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: For the fourth straight game, Laura Pranger scored in double digits, finishing with 17 points, and she picked up a double-double by posting 10 rebounds along with four blocks for the night. Savanna Hanson shared the scoring lead in a balanced team effort with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, which included two-of-three from long range. Hanson added eight assists and six rebounds. Also finishing in double figures were Samantha Huddleston with 15 points including a pair of three-pointers, Daylee Hanson with 14 points to go with a game-high six steals, and Cierra Roufosse, who tallied 12 points, five rebounds, and a block.
How It Happened: With a short jumper from Laura Pranger in the opening minute followed by Daylee Hanson scoring in the paint on the next possession, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead and trailed for just 18 seconds in the entire game. Azusa Pacific extended a 22-15 lead after the first quarter into double digits within the first thirty seconds of the second period when Lydia Nieto drained the Cougars' first of 10 three-pointers for the night. The Cougars led by as many as 13 when Rachel Bozlee capped an 11-2 run with a three-pointer with 1:52 left in the half before settling for a 44-36 halftime edge.
Point Loma never got closer than five points in the third quarter, and the Cougars doubled a six-point lead (60-54) in less than a minute on back-to-back three-pointers from Daylee Hanson and Samantha Huddleston to help Azusa Pacific take a 68-56 lead into the fourth quarter. That represented the start of a 15-4 run which led to the Cougars' largest lead of the game at 75-58 with 7:41 left in regulation, and the Cougar maintained a lead of at least eight points the rest of the way.
Quotable: "It was huge for us to come out tonight with so much energy and enthusiasm after a short turnaround from Saturday night. With Point Loma being such a good team, we wanted to make sure we were ready to take care of business tonight on the boards, and I was very pleased with the way we were able to set each other up and shoot the ball, especially from our guards. Defensively we still have room to improve, but as a whole we took care of the ball efficiently." -- Head coach T.J. Hardeman
What's Next: The Cougars will continue PacWest play on the road Thursday, Jan. 10, as they will take on conference foe Holy Names. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
