AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific clinched a share of the regular season PacWest title on Thursday evening, after the Cougars beat Hawai'i Hilo 64-55 in the Felix Event Center.
TyLee Manuel paced the Cougars offensively, scoring 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while Molly Whitmore recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Paige Uyehara did a bit of everything for the Cougars, grabbing nine rebounds, scoring eight points, dishing out six assists, and tallying two blocked shots.
How it Happened: While there were two ties over the first five minutes of action, Azusa Pacific never trailed on Thursday evening, and a jumper by Kelly Heimburger in the first quarter (5:06) put the Cougars up for good. Azusa Pacific's largest lead of the first two quarters was 13 points, which it held as late as 1:47 to play before halftime when it took a 32-19 advantage. At halftime, the Cougars were up 32-21.
Up by a 37-23 in the third quarter, the Cougars would push the lead up to 20 points for the first time with back-to-back threes from Uyehara (40-23) and Alex Lowden (43-23). While the lead would grow no larger than 20, the Cougars maintained a cushion of 14 or more for the remainder of the third and entered the final 10 minutes of play up by a 47-33 tally.
Azusa Pacific was able to regain a lead of 20 points over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter (56-36), but the Vulcans would not go quietly, as they trimmed the lead to single digits with just over a minute to play at 61-52. The run would be too little, too late, with the Cougars closing out the final minute of action by keeping the lead at eight or more points.
By the Numbers: The Cougars overcame their worst shooting performance from distance this season (3-for-16 | 17%) by scoring 24 points in the paint and knocking down 17 of 21 free throw attempts, which is a season-high for free throws made. Azusa Pacific shared the ball all game, assisting on 20 of its 22 made field goals. By clinching a share of the PacWest title, the Cougars have now been PacWest Champions six times since joining the conference as a full-time member in 2013-14, including the last two seasons (2019-20, '20-21).
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will have the chance to win the regular season crown outright on Monday (Feb. 20) at 5:15 pm, when the Cougars host Hawai'i Pacific for their regular season home finale. Alex Lowden will be playing for the final time in the Felix Event Center on Monday, as she will be honored after the game as part of the Senior Night celebration.
