CARSON, Calif. – The seventh-seeded Azusa Pacific Cougars put a scare into the CCAA Tournament champion Cal State San Marcos, but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, falling by a 75-67 final in the West Region semifinals.
How It Happened: The two sides waged a defensive battle in the opening minutes, as there was a single basket made between the two sides in the opening four minutes. Azusa Pacific woke up first at that point, knocking down four consecutive shots and opening up a 12-5 lead in the process. Third-seeded San Marcos would cut into the deficit, but Paige Uyehara would slice through for a layup just before the buzzer to give Azusa Pacific a 17-12 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter would see the Cougars continue to hold and even build on their advantage, and when TyLee Manuel knocked down a short jumper in the paint, the Cougars had a double-digit lead at 31-21. But San Marcos would fight their way back into the game by getting to the free throw line repeatedly. Before halftime, all five Cougar starters had two fouls, and San Marcos shot more free throws in the second quarter (12) than Azusa Pacific attempted in the entire game (11). Audrey Sayoc knocked down a three late in the quarter to keep the Cougars ahead going into halftime, 34-32.
While San Marcos tied the game on their first shot of the third quarter, Azusa Pacific answered with a 9-0 run to regain the advantage. San Marcos would respond with eight consecutive points to climb within one, but Azusa Pacific would hold onto the lead, and even put forth a 12-5 finishing kick to the quarter to extend the lead to 57-49 after three. But that would be the end of the highlights as San Marcos clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter, holding the Cougars to 4-19 from the field over the final 10 minutes and salting the game away with 26 fourth-quarter points.
By the Numbers: Uyehara led the Cougars with 13 points, while Alex Lowden put up an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in her final collegiate game. Kelly Heimburger also had 11 points for Azusa Pacific. Amayah Kirkman and Audrey Sayoc each had 8 points off the bench, as the Cougar reserves hit all five of their three-point attempts en route to outscoring their San Marcos counterparts 19-9. Despite the foul trouble, the Cougars were competitive on the boards, only getting outrebounded by a margin of 40-36. All-time, Azusa Pacific is now 8-6 in the NCAA Tournament, including 8-4 in West Region play.
With today's result, Azusa Pacific ends the 2022-23 season with a record of 26-5, having won consecutive PacWest regular season and tournament titles and having made the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
