IRVINE, Calif. – No. 19 Azusa Pacific was defeated on the road by Concordia on Friday afternoon, falling by a 71-52 final score. Molly Whitmore led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points, while Kelly Heimburger and Jane Ersepke nearly joined her in double figures with nine points apiece. On the glass, Alex Lowden pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds, and Whitmore and Kyra Zovak each grabbed six boards. Concordia was led by the reigning PacWest Southern California Player of the Week, Michaela VanderKlugt, who had a near double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds.
 
How It Happened: To open the game, the Cougars' plan of attack on the offensive end was to pound the ball inside. As a result, Whitmore and Heimburger scored 10 of Azusa Pacific's 14 first quarter points. After the first, the Cougars held a 14-12 advantage. The Eagles opened the second quarter with a three to take a 15-14 lead, but the Cougars would respond with a 6-0 run to go ahead 20-15 with 7:10 remaining before half. Concordia would not only respond to the 6-0 run by Azusa Pacific, but the Eagles would dominate the action over the remainder of the second quarter, using an 18-3 run to grab a 33-23 halftime lead. After a Whitmore layup at the 5:23 mark in the second, the Cougars would not score another field goal prior to intermission. While Heimburger opened the third quarter with a jumper to cut the Cougar deficit down to eight at 33-25, the Eagles would answer back with a jumper of their own to push the lead back up to 10, and Azusa Pacific would not draw within single digits for the rest of the contest. The Eagles would steadily pull away over the third and fourth, grabbing a lead as large as 27 at 70-43 with 2:07 remaining in the game.
 
Turning Point: At the half, the Cougars were still in striking distance at just a 10 point deficit. With a few buckets and some stops, Azusa Pacific could have been right back in the game, however, Concordia stepped on the gas in the third and quickly halted any hopes of a Cougar comeback. The Eagles outscored the visitors by a 22-12 margin in the quarter, shooting 7-for-13 (54%) from the floor, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Eagles were also able to get to the line, where they knocked down five of their six attempts.
 
By the Numbers: Concordia was able to create separation and build its lead in large part due to the points off of turnovers that were created. The Eagles forced the Cougars to commit 18 turnovers in the game, scoring 19 points off of those opportunities. Meanwhile, the Cougars scored just five points off of 12 Eagle turnovers. Another telling stat was the three-point line, where Concordia finished 7-for-16 (44%), compared to the Cougars' line of 2-for-12 (17%) from beyond-the-arc.
 
Up Next: The Cougars (2-1) will not have to sit on this loss for long, as the two teams are set for a rematch tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 30) at 2:00 pm in Azusa. The game will be live streamed for free on Cougars All-Access.