SAN DIEGO, Calif -- It may seem like a familiar refrain but it could not be sweeter music to the ears of Azusa Pacific. The theme of another big game from Lindsey West and another win for the Cougars could not be coming at a better time.
West led all scorers with 29 points and 15 rebounds in leading the NAIA’s No. 17-ranked Azusa Pacific over San Diego Christian, 81-69.
The biggest moments in the game might have come at the opening of the second half. Azusa Pacific came out of the locker room with an 11-point lead but quickly turned the game into a rout with a 7-0 run that established complete control over the Hawks.
"I thought we had a much more consistent week overall than we had been," said head coach Danelle Liles. "We had a stretch after our winning streak were we didn't play as well but the girls have worked hard to get back on track."
West and Alyssa Ferdaszewski combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds as the Cougars extended their winning streak to 4 games and kept pace in the GSAC.
Pending Point Loma Nazarene and The Master’s game results, the Cougars needed the victory to stay half a game in front of the other 2 for second place in the conference. Against a Hawk team that has struggled all season long Azusa Pacific (21-7, 13-5) was able to do just that.
The win concludes a very productive week for Azusa Pacific as it won 3 games, a challenge of depth and consistency. The Cougars have turned a corner after running into some shooting difficulties midway through the conference season. They appear to have turned a corner.
While tonight they shot the ball under 40 percent from the field, the Cougars made up for it with a quality night at the free throw line where they made 19-of-23 attempts. Normally a 69 percent shooting team from the line, they made 83 percent tonight.
Another key element in victory was the work on their work on the glass. Ferdaszewski added 10 rebounds as she recorded her first double-double since Dec. 29 when she had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Rocky Mountain. Azusa Pacific outrebounded San Diego Christian by 11 (45-34) and forced 22 Hawk turnovers.
"Alyssa did a great job of moving without the ball," said Liles. "She got a lot of lay-ups on cuts to the basket and she made some outside shots."
The Cougars opened up a double digit first half lead in large part due to West and Ferdaszewski and excellent shooting from the foul line. The duo combined for 24 points with West dominating in the paint and Ferdaszewski creating and hitting outside jumpers. They each went 3-for-3 at the charity stripe as Azusa Pacific made all 7 of its free throws.
The Cougars also featured an aggressive defense which forced 11 first half turnovers by the Hawks and limited them to 36 percent shooting.
Monica Somers scored 11 points and dished out 5 assists for the Cougars who had 10 players score in the contest.
While it is challenging to fathom that only 2 conference games remain the fact is Azusa Pacific has hit the home stretch of the conference season with positioning in the GSAC Tournament still very much in the air. The Cougars remaining games include hosting Fresno Pacific before visiting Vanguard next Monday in the season finale.
Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific will battle on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. at the Felix Event Center.
