AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific did the hard work in the first half and came away with a 69-59 victory over Cal State San Marcos Saturday evening inside the Felix Event Center. Kelly Heimburger led all scorers in the game with 19 points as the Cougars moved to 2-0 on the season.

How It Happened: Azusa Pacific led wire-to-wire and put forth a dominant effort in the opening 10 minutes. Four of the five starters had scored within the first three minutes of the game as the Cougars jumped out to an 11-2 lead, forcing an early San Marcos timeout. A stifling defensive effort held San Marcos to 2-18 from the field in the opening quarter as the home team led 21-6 after one.

Lauren Jones got in on the action with a pair of threes early in the second quarter as the Cougars stretched the lead to as many as 24 points in the first half. Indeed, by halftime, Azusa Pacific had made 5 three-point shots while allowing only 6 total San Marcos field goals as the Cougars doubled up their CCAA opponents at halftime by a margin of 40-20. And over the first two minutes of the third, Azusa Pacific would score the first seven points of the second half to assume their largest lead of the game at 27 points and were largely on cruise control for the rest of the game, though San Marcos did briefly cut the lead to single digits in the final seconds.

By the Numbers: Heimburger led all scorers with 19 points (11 of which came in the first quarter) and also grabbed 6 rebounds. Amayah Kirkman chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds while Jones added 11 points and 4 steals. Audrey Sayoc dealt out a team-high 5 assists, while the defense held San Marcos to 28% shooting from the field. Azusa Pacific leads the all-time series 5-2 against San Marcos, and all seven meetings have been held in a different location, with the first six all occurring at neutral sites.

Up Next: Off to a 2-0 start, Azusa Pacific will head up to the Pacific Northwest to play a pair of GNAC rivals. Up first is one of last year's regional participants, Western Washington. Tipoff in Seattle is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Friday.