AZUSA, Calif. – No. 3 Azusa Pacific won its 11th consecutive game on Thursday evening, defeating the visiting Sharks of Hawai'i Pacific by a 90-69 final. The Cougars are 14-1 overall, with a perfect 10-0 PacWest record.
Paige Uyehara scored a game-high 22 points, while also dishing out four assists and tallying two steals and a block on the defensive end. Laura Pranger delivered a double-double for the Cougars, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Molly Whitmore scored in double figures for the fourth-consecutive game, pouring in a season-high 18 points. Kayla Shaw caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of her 17 points in the final 10 minutes, while also finishing with seven rebounds and four assists. Alex Lowden recorded eight assists for the second-consecutive game.
How it Happened: Both teams found their rhythm on the offensive end early, as the Sharks shot 56% from the floor (9-for-16 overall | 6-for-11 from three), and the Cougars were 59% overall (10-for-17 overall | 5-for-9 from three) in the first quarter. Hawai'i Pacific led for the entirety of the opening period, taking a 26-25 advantage into the second.
Trailing 33-30 with seven minutes on the clock in the second, Azusa Pacific used an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the contest, surging ahead to a 41-33 advantage at the 3:27 mark. The Cougars first lead of the game came with just over five minutes to go before halftime, when Laura Pranger found Molly Whitmore in the paint for a layup that put the Cougars up 34-33 with 5:12 to go. From that point on, Azusa Pacific would maintain the lead for the remainder of the evening. In the second quarter, the Cougar defense stifled the Sharks, holding Hawai'i Pacific to just 5-for-18 shooting. At halftime, Azusa Pacific entered the locker room with a 46-39 lead.
Following a pair of Uyehara free throws that put the Cougars up by double-digits at 55-45 with 6:12 to play in the third quarter, Hawai'i Pacific cut the lead in half to 55-50 (4:36) with a 6-0 run.
Turning Point: The 55-50 score was the closest that the Sharks would get in the second half, with the Cougars seizing the momentum and control of the game over the remainder of the third quarter. Over the final four and a half minutes of the third quarter, Azusa Pacific outscored the Sharks by a 12-1 margin to take its largest lead of the game at the point, 67-51, into the final 10 minutes of play. The exclamation point to the third quarter came via Uyehara, as she received an inbounds pass from Whitmore and took a few dribbles to half court, where she then launched the ball in the face of two Sharks defenders and swished it for three of her game-high 22 points.
The Cougars kept the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, growing its lead to as large as 28 points at 90-62 with 1:50 left in regulation. Over the final 10 minutes, Azusa Pacific shot 7-for-13 overall, led by a perfect 4-for-4 performance beyond-the-arc from Shaw.
By the Numbers: For the second straight game, the Cougars made the extra pass and found their teammates on the offensive end, tallying 26 assists on 33 made field goals. It is the fourth-straight game in which the Cougars have dished out 20 or more assists. Azusa Pacific finished 48% from three (13-for-27) and overall (33-for-68), as well as a season-best 92% (11-for-12) from the charity stripe. For the fifth time this year, the Cougars committed fewer than 10 turnovers, finishing with just eight.
Up Next: The Cougars return to action on Saturday, January 29, when Academy of Art visits the Felix Event Center for a 1:15 pm tip-off. Unfortunately, there is no general admission attendance permitted to the Felix Event Center at this time, so fans can tune in to the game for free on the Azusa Pacific Athletics Network.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: LAURA PRANGER & PAIGE UYEHARA
