AZUSA, Calif. – No. 25 Azusa Pacific defended its home court on Wednesday evening, defeating Concordia by a 79-53 final. With the victory, the Cougars are 8-2 overall, and off to a 3-0 record in PacWest play.

TyLee Manuel posted her second double-double of the season, as the forward scored a game-high 24 points and also collected 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Paige Uyehara tallied 17 points, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot, while Molly Whitmore added 14 points and dished out four assists. Kelly Heimburger highlighted an impressive defensive effort from the Cougars, as Heimburger finished with three steals and three blocks. Alex Lowden also had three steals in the contest.

How It Happened: The Cougars suffocated the Golden Eagle offense from the opening tip-off, and Concordia was held without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game. Jasmine Rachal had the first field goal for Concordia with 3:00 to go in the first, as she hit a three-pointer that made it 14-4. Prior to Rachal's triple, the Golden Eagles had just one point by way of a free throw. Azusa Pacific closed out the first quarter with a 20-6 lead, which was a result of a 10-for-17 (59%) overall shooting effort for the Cougars, while Concordia was just 2-for-11 (18%). The Cougars also forced the Golden Eagles into eight turnovers in the first quarter.

A little over three minutes into the second quarter, a three-pointer by Uyehara put the Cougars up 31-11, and Azusa Pacific's lead would remain at 20 or more for the remainder of the second. The Cougars' largest lead of the second was 29 points, by way of a Lowden layup that made it 46-17 with 30 seconds to go before halftime. Azusa Pacific went 4-for-5 from three in the second, including a 3-for-3 effort from Uyehara from distance. The Cougars scored 26 points in the second quarter, which was their highest output by quarter in the game, and they entered the break up 46-20.

Up 55-27 with a little under six minutes to play in the third, Azusa Pacific went on a 6-0 run to push its lead up to 63-27, which gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game to that point at 36 points. Azusa Pacific entered the fourth up 65-32.

The fourth quarter was the only period in which Concordia outscored the Cougars (21-14), but with the game well out of reach, the margin would grow no smaller than 25 points (78-53, 0:21).

By the Numbers: The Cougar seemingly scored at will, as Azusa Pacific racked up 50 points in the paint, while also knocking down six of 15 attempts from beyond-the-arc, which is a single-game high in team three-point percentage (40%) this season. The Cougars finished at 48% from the floor overall (32-for-67), while the hosts held Concordia to just 32% (18-for-56), including 4-for-16 (25%) from distance. Azusa Pacific forced the Golden Eagles into 18 turnovers, which the Cougars turned into 22 points off of turnovers. On the glass, Azusa Pacific posted a rebounding advantage of 45-31, including 14-9 on the offensive end. The Cougars doubled-up Concordia in second chance points at 18-9. 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will have a couple of days to prepare for its next opponent, with PacWest rival Point Loma scheduled to visit the Felix Event Center this Saturday, December 10, at 2:15 pm. The Sea Lions will enter the contest with a 4-6 overall record, and a 2-1 conference mark.