POINT LOMA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific claimed a 78-76 victory Friday night which was fueled by a dominant fourth quarter. The Cougars finished  with all five of their starters scoring in double digits, including Paige Uyehara, who posted 25 points and three assists. Molly Whitmore totaled 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting while grabbing nine boards. Alex Lowden had a double-double for the Cougars with 10 points, a team high 10 rebounds, and four steals. Kelly Heimburger tallied 11 points while Laura Pranger finished with 13 points and five assists in her first game back from injury.  

How It Happened: The Cougars got off to a slow start against the Sea Lions, with 6:44 left in the first quarter Point Loma had already established a 10 point lead with the score being 12-2. Azusa Pacific shot just 27% in the first quarter in which they were outscored 24-13. The Cougars came back in the second quarter by allowing Point Loma to shoot just 3-for-20 from the field and 1-for-9 beyond the arc. In this second quarter Azusa Pacific dug into the Sea Lions lead by outsourcing them 16-11, in which they went into halftime down by six. Both teams game out of halftime pushing the ball inside as they both finished the third quarter with 10 points coming from inside the paint. This led to the Cougars shooting 57% from the field  in that quarter while the Sea Lions shot 50%. Going into the fourth quarter Azusa Pacific had their work cut out for them as they were down by ten. Point Loma maintained a 10 point lead with 8:04 left in the game. Going into the fourth quarter Azusa Pacific had only led in the game for a total of 14 seconds. Uyehara's 15 point fourth quarter would help to change this down the stretch for the Cougars. 

Turning Point: Paige Uyehara's three pointer with 7:05 left in the game would mark a complete turn of events for the Cougars. Following this three, Uyehara went on to score the Cougars' next five points which put them behind by only one point with 6:15 to play. Lowden then hit her only three of the game to put the Cougars up by two. However, an 8-2 scoring run by the Sea Lions put them back up by four. Uyehara then added to her impressive third quarter with two made free throws. The next possession, Whitmore hit a two-point jumper just outside the paint to put the Cougars back within one with 1:13 left to play. In the final minute of the game the Cougars won the three throw battle as Whitmore hit two free throws to put Azusa Pacific up by one. Heimburger sealed the win for the Cougars by making one of her two free throws just before time expired. 

By the Numbers: Despite getting the loss in the end, the Sea Lions out rebounded the Cougars 50-42, in that they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds compared to the Cougars' 12. The Cougars just barely won the shooting battle in that they shot 41% compared to the Sea Lion's 36%. However, the shooting in the fourth quarter paints the picture for the Azusa Pacific victory. The Cougars went 8-for-19 from the field and 4-for-7 from three in the fourth. They held the Sea Lions to just 5-for-18 from the field and 1-for-4 from three. The Cougars were impressive from the free-throw line in the second half in that they shot 12-for-13 which helped them overcome the six point halftime deficit and  allowed them to close out the game in the final minutes.