AZUSA, Calif. - No. 6 Azusa Pacific secured the fourth PacWest Championship in program history on Wednesday evening, knocking off visiting Concordia 68-61. The Cougars captured the conference crown with a 16-1 PacWest record, with two games still left to play in the regular season. 

In addition to the significance of Wednesday evening's victory for the team, the game also included a record-breaking performance, as Laura Pranger blocked the 321st shot of her career, which makes her the PacWest Conference's all-time leading shot blocker. The achievement is yet another honor in Pranger's career, as she holds the Azusa Pacific records for blocks in a career, in a season (120), and in a game (10). Pranger finished this evening's contest with five blocks.

Following this evening's game, four Cougars were honored for Senior Night, as it marked the final time in which Pranger, Kayla Shaw, Cate Walton and Kyra Zovak would play in the Felix Event Center. In their final regular season home game, Shaw and Pranger led the Cougars in scoring, with Shaw tallying 19 points and Pranger following with 14. 

Joining Shaw & Pranger in double figures was Paige Uyehara and Molly Whitmore, who added 11 points each. On the glass, Uyehara grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and Whitmore collected seven. Uyehara also dished out five assists. In addition to Pranger's record-breaking performance on the defensive end, Alex Lowden had a game-high five steals. 

How It Happened: In the first quarter, the Cougars threatened to put the game out of reach early. Through the first 10 minutes, Azusa Pacific went up 25-11 by shooting 63% (10-for-16) in the first quarter, while holding the Eagles to 31% (4-for-13) from the floor. 

Azusa Pacific maintained the lead throughout the second quarter, pushing its advantage to as large as 16 points (29-13, 8:45), while Concordia was unable to draw any closer than seven (37-30, 3:18). 

Throughout the third quarter, the Cougars were able to keep their lead at double-digits, with the largest lead of the quarter coming at 57-41 with 2:40 left in the frame. The Eagles started to show some signs of life over the remainder of the third, with the visitors able to cut the lead down to as low as 11 at 59-48 at the end of the quarter.

With eight minutes to go, Azusa Pacific was up 12 at 63-51. For the next three and a half minutes, Concordia held the Cougars scoreless and were able to score six unanswered points, bringing the score to a 63-57 tally with 4:32 to go in the game. The smallest lead of the final 10 minutes came with just over a minute to go, when the Eagles' Jasmine Rachal knocked down a jump shot to make it 65-61. Over the final minute, Azusa Pacific was able to hold the Eagles scoreless, while also converting 3-of-4 attempts at the line to put the game away by the 68-61 final. 

By the Numbers: While the game was close down the stretch, Azusa Pacific never trailed in the contest, leading for 39:43 minutes of play. In the paint, the Cougars posted an overwhelming advantage of 38-16 off points in the paint. Azusa Pacific showed an ability all game long to value the ball and limit mistakes, committing just six turnovers over the 40 minutes. The Cougars' six turnovers matches the fewest that they have committed in a single game this season. As a result, the Eagles scored just four points off of Cougar miscues, while Azusa Pacific scored 13 points on 12 turnovers by Concordia