AZUSA, Calif. – In a hotly-contested rubber match, the Azusa Pacific Cougars pulled away down the stretch for a 72-57 victory over the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds in the PacWest Conference semifinals Friday afternoon at the Felix Event Center.

While the home team never trailed, they nevertheless were pushed to the limit by a game Sunbirds squad aiming to pull off a second upset in as many days.  It was the Cougars' bench that sprung to life in the latter half of the first quarter, as Alex Lowden, Molly Whitmore, and Rachel Bozlee combined to put up 11 of the Cougars' final 13 points in the opening frame, breaking open the game and giving Azusa Pacific a 23-14 lead after one.

Bozlee would hit another three pointer in the second quarter, tying her with Kelly Hardeman for the program's career record at 276, but Fresno Pacific would rally back and make it a six-point game at halftime, 38-32.  While the Cougars would lead by as many as 10 in the third quarter, another furious Sunbird run would see the lead trimmed to a single point, 51-50 at the end of the third.

With the game tied at 55-55 and seven minutes play, that's when Daylee Hanson took charge.  The senior scored seven consecutive points by herself, and had nine in the final quarter as the Cougars finished the game on a 17-2 run.

Hanson would finish with 23 points and 8 rebounds to lead all scorers in the game.  Joining her in double figures for the Cougars were Laura Pranger, who had 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks; along with Rachel Bozlee, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half.  Pranger's 7 blocks give her 118 on the season, surpassing her own single-season record from last year.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific improves to 25-4 on the season and advance to the PacWest tournament final for the second consecutive year.  They will look to win the tournament for the first time since 2016 when they take on Hawai'i Pacific Saturday at 2:00 p.m.  The winner of that game will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.