SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific women's basketball team pulled away in the second half for their fourth win in a row Saturday night, defeating the Dominican Penguins by a final margin of 83-62 Saturday night at the Conlan Center.

The Cougars started off controlling the inside, as Laura Pranger had six points and three blocked shots in the early going as Azusa Pacific jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes.  Dominican would rally from an early deficit to tie the game at 16-16 late in the first quarter, but the Cougars would regain a narrow 21-18 lead at the quarter break.

In the second, Daylee Hanson hit a pair of three-point shots to key a 13-0 run that gave the Cougars a 36-21 lead midway through the quarter.  The Cougars would take an 11-point advantage into the locker room after shooting 45% from the field in the first half, while holding the Penguins to 23% at the defensive end.

Dominican would get a couple of timely threes to close the gap in the third quarter, at one point climbing within six.  But another Azusa Pacific run, this time by a count of 16-2, reestablished the lead, as the Cougars would be up by as many as 20 in the quarter, leading 62-44 after three, and the visitors were never seriously threatened again.

Four Cougars would reach double figures in the scoring column.  Savanna Hanson led the team with 21 to go with 7 rebounds.  Daylee Hanson had 20 of her own, along with 4 steals and 4 assists. Pranger finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 blocks.  And Alex Lowden chipped in 11 off the bench.  Much of that scoring came in transition, as the Cougars converted 26 Penguin turnovers into 32 points.

With the victory, the Cougars improve to 22-4 on the season and 16-4 in Pacific West Conference play.  With one more win or one Concordia loss, they would officially clinch the second seed and the first-round bye in the conference tournament that comes with it.  The Cougars will have a chance to take care of matters themselves on Monday when they visit Holy Names.