Hilo, Hawai'i— Four Cougars showed strong play offensively and finished in double figures to help lead No. 4 Azusa Pacific to its first Pacific West Conference victory of the season with a 81-57 win over Hawai'i Hilo Monday evening. 

A strong performance from the start of the game helped the Cougars open up a three-game road trip to the Hawaiian islands with their sixth straight victory. Azusa Pacific remains undefeated on the season, 6-0, while Hawai'i Hilo drops 1-3 overall.

Azusa Pacific Standouts: Several Cougars made significant contributions to the victory. Senior guard Daylee Hanson led the Cougars with 16 points and six rebounds while senior guard Savanna Hanson and junior forward Laura Pranger each tallied in 15-points and five rebounds respectively. Senior forward Cierra Roufosse added 10 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Rachel Bozlee collected a season-high eight rebounds.   

How It Happened: Azusa Pacific dominated the boards on both sides of the floor and out- rebounded Hawai'i Hilo 46-20, while taking advantage of the second chance points, 22-2. Azusa Pacific also outshot Hawai'i Hilo from the field, as the Cougars went 29-of-62 (46.8 percent) from the field, including a total of nine three-pointers behind the arc. 

To open up the match, a basket by Pranger followed by back-to-back layups from Roufosse helped Azusa Pacific jump out to an early 6-0 lead before the Vulcans could respond with their first points of the evening. A layup from freshman Lydia Nieto turned the Cougars six point lead into an eight point margin with 1:25 left in the first frame. Azusa Pacific never looked back and continued to extend its lead as much as twenty points before going into the half with a three-point basket from Paige Uyehara (assisted by Nieto) at the buzzer.

Coming out of halftime, the Cougars continued to show strong play as they generated a 24-point edge over the Vulcans with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Hawai'i Hilo made a bold effort in the fourth frame to cut the Azusa Pacific's lead 62-47 with an 11-1 run, but the Cougars responded back with a 12-1 run to cruise to their first PacWest Conference victory.

What's Next: No. 4 Azusa Pacific will continue its three-game road trip to the Hawai'i Islands on the big island of Honolulu Wednesday night against Chaminade at 5:30 p.m. (HST).