After winning its second consecutive regular season PacWest title, Azusa Pacific picked up several conference honors. Head coach T.J. Hardeman was named the PacWest Coach of the Year, Paige Uyehara was a All-PacWest First Team selection, while TyLee Manuel and Kelly Heimburger earned Second Team distinction, and Molly Whitmore was voted to the Third Team.
Hardeman, who has led the Cougars to six PacWest titles and six NCAA Tournament appearances since Azusa Pacific joined the conference in 2013, was named the PacWest Coach of the Year for the second time, as he earned the honor following the 2018-19 season. This year, Hardeman's squad finished the regular season with a 23-4 record, including an 18-2 conference record and an undefeated 11-0 mark in the Felix Event Center, and Azusa Pacific is top-10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24) and assists per game (17.4). Since the Cougars first joined NCAA Division II and the PacWest Conference, Hardeman has won 224 games, and he has earned a total of 375 victories across his 16 seasons at Azusa Pacific. His current winning percentage at Azusa Pacific is .764 (375-116).
For the second consecutive season, Uyehara was voted to the First Team. The Cougar point guard ranks top-10 in the conference in six statistical categories, and she is the PacWest-leader in assists, with 129 over 27 games for a 4.8 assists per game average. Uyehara has scored 13.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the conference, and she is second in three-point percentage at 37% (58-for-156). Uyehara scored in double figures in 21 games, including five games of 20 or more points, and she had five or more assists in 14 games, including a career-high 12 in a road win at regionally-ranked Cal State Los Angeles.
Manuel is a Second Team selection after she finished the regular season ranked sixth in scoring at 14.2 points per game, and 11th in rebounding at 6.3 rebounds. Manuel was second in the PacWest in field goal percentage at 52% (152-for-295), and she scored 10 or more points in 19 games. In the win at Cal State Los Angeles, Manuel poured in a career-high 31 points on 13-for-14 shooting. She registered five double-doubles on the year.
Heimburger was also named to the Second Team after a stellar sophomore campaign. Defensively, she is second in the conference in blocked shots at 1.7 per game (45 total blocks), and she is 11th in steals (1.6 per game). On the offensive end of the floor, Heimburger scored 11.6 points per game and dished out 2.7 assists per game, both which rank 14th in the PacWest. On the glass, Heimburger averaged 6.1 rebounds per game, which ranks her 13th in the conference.
Whitmore is now a two-time All-PacWest selection, as she was a Third Team honoree last season as well. Whitmore averaged 11.5 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game, all which ranked her in the top-20 in the conference. Whitmore had four double-doubles on the year, including a 20-point, 11-rebound performance in a win over Holy Names.
Azusa Pacific will be the top-seed at the 2023 PacWest Tournament, which starts this week in Hawai'i. The Cougars earned a first-round bye and will play in the semifinals on Friday, March 3 at 2:45 pm HT (4:45 pm PT), and they await the quarterfinal winner of #5 Point Loma and #4 Biola, which play on Thursday. All games will be played at St. Louis High School in Honolulu. For more information, visit TOURNAMENT CENTRAL.
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