OAKLAND, Calif. – A dominant defensive effort in the second quarter propelled the Cougars to an 87-36 victory over Holy Names Monday evening in Tobin Gymnasium to lock up second place in the Pacific West Conference.

After a slow start, the Cougars found their stride in the middle of the first quarter, taking the lead with an 13-0 run which was converted into a narrow 19-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter.  In the second quarter, Rachel Bozlee knocked down back-to-back long balls as part of a 16-0 run to open the quarter.  The Cougars kept the Hawks off the scoreboard for more than eight minutes and would not allow a single made field goal during the period.  Savanna Hanson would nail a three from the left wing just before the buzzer to give the visitors a 38-18 edge at intermission.

Cierra Roufosse opened the second half by knocking down her first career three pointer to keep the momentum going as the third quarter saw the Cougars open with another large run, this one to the tune of 16-3 over the first three and a half minutes.  The Azusa Pacific bench got opportunities to shine in the second half as all 10 Cougars who played scored a basket.

Bozlee led all players in scoring with 19 points, and her 5 triples move her into second place in program history in career three-pointers made, just two behind all-time leader (and current assistant coach) Kelly Hardeman.  Pranger had a double-double, putting up 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in only 21 minutes of action.  Whitmore also had a double-double, with 13 points and 10 boards.  Savanna Hanson also reached double figures with 10 points.  Azusa Pacific's bench as a unit put up 45 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists, and 11 steals.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 23-4 on the season, 17-4 in PacWest play and have now officially locked up second place in the conference.  The regular season will conclude on Saturday with a potential preview of the tournament semifinals when they visit third-place Concordia for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.