AZUSA, Calif. -- There was an exciting and competitive collegiate basketball game in the Felix Event Center on Tuesday evening, and much to the satisfaction of the home crowd, No. 5 Azusa Pacific emerged with a 63-58 win over visiting Cal State Los Angeles. With just under a minute remaining and the score tied at 58, an offensive rebound by Kelly Heimburger led to a go-ahead three-pointer from Kayla Shaw that put the Cougars ahead for good. Azusa Pacific is 3-0 to start the season.
Shaw was the Cougars' leading scorer in the game with 14 points (4-for-8 3FG), and Whitmore joined her double figures with 13 points. Alex Lowden was Azusa Pacific's leading rebounder with 12 boards, and she also scored eight points and tallied three steals. Kelly Heimburger posted a game-high six assists, while also adding nine points, and TyLee Manuel came off the bench to score eight points and collect six rebounds.
How it Happened: After the first quarter of play, the Golden Eagles held a 17-12 advantage on the scoreboard, with Nicole Flennaugh scoring 11 of those points. For the Cougars, they went 5-for-17 from the floor and 2-for-7 from deep.
While the Cougars would outscore Cal State Los Angeles in the second quarter, it was by a slim 15-12 margin that still saw the home team enter the halftime break trailing by a 29-27 score. Through the first two quarters, both teams made life difficult on the offensive end. At the intermission, the Cougars had shot 33% (9-for-27) overall and 2-for-9 (22%) from deep, while the Golden Eagles went 10-for-31 (31%) from the floor including 5-for-13 (39%). Cal State Los Angeles forced the Cougars into 13 turnovers, and Azusa Pacific had turned the Golden Eagles over nine times.
In the third quarter, Azusa Pacific started to find its rhythm offensively, scoring 18 points on 42% (8-for-19) shooting, and committing just two turnovers. On the defensive end, the Cougars did not allow a triple from Cal State Los Angeles (0-for-6). Over the course of the third quarter, neither team took a lead larger than one possession, and the Golden Eagles held a slim 46-45 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Cal State Los Angeles was able to take the first multi-possession lead of the second half, with Yesenia Smith scoring a bucket in the paint to put the Golden Eagles up 51-46 with 7:04 left in the contest. While the margin would not extend beyond five, Azusa Pacific found itself trailing for much of the final quarter.
Turning Point: Facing a 58-54 deficit with a little under two minutes to go, Alex Lowden was fouled on a layup and sent to the free throw line, where she knocked down both shots to make it 58-56. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Paige Uyehara stole the ball for the Cougars and found Lowden, who laid it in to tie the game at 58-58. Lowden's four point burst in a little over 10 seconds snapped the Golden Eagles' run of eight consecutive minutes with the lead.
Following Lowden's layup, Cal State Los Angeles came up empty on its ensuing possession, and Amayah Kirkman was able to secure the rebound for the Cougars.
With about a minute remaining, Uyehara found a driving lane to the basket but missed the shot, however, Heimburger was there to collect the miss and kick back to Uyehara in the short corner. With a defender collapsing on Uyehara, she found Shaw beyond-the-arc on the nearby wing, and without hesitation, the reigning PacWest Newcomer of the Year knocked down the Cougars' biggest shot of the year to this point. The Golden Eagles would come up empty on two possessions with a chance to tie, and Lowden closed the door on the game with a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining.
By the Numbers: The Cougars finished 21-for-57 (37%) from the floor and 5-for-16 (31%) from deep. At the charity stripe, Azusa Pacific made more free throws than the Golden Eagles attempted, as the Cougars finished 16-for-21 while Cal State Los Angeles went 6-for-12. The Cougars were able to outscore their opponents inside, with a points in the paint margin of 30-18. Overall, there were 15 lead changes and five ties over the 40 minutes of basketball. The Golden Eagles held the lead for a total of 28:29, while Azusa Pacific was up for just 7:55.
Up Next: No. 5 Azusa Pacific will be in San Marcos this weekend for a pair of neutral site games with opponents from the GNAC. On Friday, the Cougars take on Western Washington at 1:00 pm, and then on Saturday, the opponent will be Seattle Pacific, also at 1:00 pm. Both games will be played on the campus of Cal State San Marcos.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW - MOLLY WHITMORE & KAYLA SHAW
SHAW'S GO-AHEAD THREE:
