AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific improved to 5-0 on the season, as the Cougars defeated visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills 79-67 on Tuesday night in the Felix Event Center.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as neither offenses could get in a rhythm. For the Toros, they went just 4-for-14 from the floor (28%) and committed six turnovers. On the other end, Azusa Pacific was 6-for-16 (31%) overall. Both sides went 0-for-5 from beyond the three-point line. At the end of quarter number one, Azusa Pacific held a slim 12-11 lead.
In the second quarter, the Cougar offense woke up and the Cougar defense stifled any offensive attack from Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Cougars scored 21 points in the quarter off of 9-for-21 shooting (43%) from the floor. Of the Cougars' nine made field goals, eight of them were assisted on. Defensively, Azusa Pacific forced the Toros into seven turnovers, five of those turnovers resulting from Cougar steals. Following the strong second quarter performance, Azusa Pacific took a 33-20 lead into halftime.
Azusa Pacific's best offensive stretch came in the third quarter, as the Cougars scored 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the floor (65%), including 4-for-6 from deep.
Laura Pranger and
Savanna Hanson each scored four field goals in the period, and three different Cougars had two assists. The scoring outburst for the Cougars gave them a 60-43 lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.
Cal State Dominguez Hills outscored Azusa Pacific 24-19 over the final 10 minutes of the contest, however, the Cougars' lead would never fall into single digits and the Cougars closed the game out with the 12 point victory.
"It was good to get back in action after 10 days off," said head coach TJ Hardeman, "we were a little rusty there in the first quarter, but we were better and better as the game went on and we executed much better after the first 10 minutes."
The Cougars finished with 34 made field goals in the game, and 24 of those baskets were assisted on. "Our team is really good at finding one another, we are a very deep team and we have so many players with unique skills sets," said Coach Hardeman, "it is great seeing high assist numbers at the end of the game because it means we are finding one another in the right spots and recognizing how much more dangerous we are when we are sharing the ball."
Three Cougars scored in double figures in the victory, highlighted by 12 points from
Savanna Hanson. Hanson made her season debut for the Cougars, as she played 24 minutes and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Pranger also scored in double figures with a team-high 15 points, to go along with a full stat sheet of nine rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals.
Cierra Roufosse scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.
Azusa Pacific, currently undefeated and ranked fourth in the nation, will begin PacWest conference play. The Cougars' first four conference games will be on the road, beginning with a three game trip to Hawai'i. Azusa Pacific opens with Hawai'i Hilo on Monday, December 5 at 5:30 pm (HST).
