AZUSA, Calif. – From the first minute to the last, Azusa Pacific controlled the game against Fresno Pacific resulting in a lopsided 90-55 win for the Cougars. It was the team's highest-scoring game of the season which featured points from eleven different players.
Paige Uyehara led the team with 22 points, nearly tying her season-high 23-point game from early November. Not only did she lead in scoring but also with a season-high seven assists and game-high four steals.
Kelly Heimburger added 18 points of her own while grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots, further cementing herself as one of the Conference's best defenders. Amayah Kirkman rounded out the double-digit scoring with ten points of her own while leading the team with nine rebounds.
With the win, Azusa Pacific extended its win streak to eleven as they remain undefeated in Conference play (9-0) while improving their overall record to 15-3.
How it Happened: Although the Cougars' Molly Whitmore got the first score of the game, the Cougars found themselves down 6-7 three minutes into the game. That was only time the Sunbirds would have the lead as Uyehara responded with back-to-back steals that led to fast break layups to go up by four and set the tone for the rest of the game.
With 2:28 left in the first quarter, Fresno Pacific knocked down a three-pointer to keep their deficit to only two points. However, the Cougars responded with an eight-point run to leave the Sunbirds scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.
Now up by ten points to start the second quarter, the Cougars extended that hot streak with a jumper from Heimburger and a triple from Uyehara to make the score 27-12.
Similar to the previous quarter, the Cougars finished the half with 11 points in the last two minutes while allowing the Sunbirds to score only 10 points the whole quarter.
Coming out of halftime up 44-22, Fresno Pacific had a quick three-pointer before the Cougars responded with a nine-point run to extend their lead to 28 points. Just a few minutes later, the Azusa Pacific furthered that lead to at one point in the quarter a 33-point deficit over the Sunbirds.
To start the fourth quarter, the team continued to spread the wealth as five different players scored to help the Cougars go up by 39 points with 5:33 still left on the clock. Still controlling the game, Azusa Pacific flashed signs of a bright future for the program as true freshman Mia Pierce had a layup and three-pointer in the final minutes to help the team to a season-high 90-point game.
By the Numbers: The Cougars found success converting the Sunbirds' 21 turnovers into 26 points while the Fresno Pacific only scored nine points off the Cougars' 14 turnovers. Azusa Pacific dominated in the paint with 52 points including19 second chance points meanwhile the Sunbirds only scored 24 points within the key. On offense, the Cougars put together a season-best performance shooting 52.7% (39-for-74) from the field plus 40% (6-for-15) from beyond-the arc. In the third quarter alone, the Cougars were 3-for-3 (100%) from behind the rainbow and 11-for-16 (68%) within field goal range. Then, further proving the depth of the program, Azusa Pacific produced 28 points off the bench and in the final quarter of the game, seven different Cougars scored.
Up Next: After completing a five-game sweep at home, the Cougars will make their annual trip to Hawai'i to play Hawai'i Pacific first on Tuesday at 2:00 PM (HST) / 4:00 PM (PST). They will then play Chaminade on Thursday and Hawai'i Hilo on Saturday.
