Cyndie Jones dished and scored in win over Chaminade.
by Andy Villanueva
(Glendora) – The “starting-five” for Azusa Pacific all scored in double-digits as the Cougars held off visiting Chaminade, 82-62.
Azusa Pacific were cruising through nearly the entire game until the Silverswords mounted a comeback with a 12-0 run midway through the second half.
Kelly Hardeman led all Cougars with 20 points while tying the APU school record with 129-career blocks. She shares the record with Jessica Herman who played in 1998 and ’99 season.
The win guaranteed the Cougars a PacWest Conference Tournament berth and marked the 12th-straight season of 16-wins or more.
The victory also gave Azusa Pacific a win heading into a crucial rematch with Cal Baptist on Saturday night.
The Cougars defense was stellar in the first limiting Chaminade to just 25-points with 18 coming from beyond the arc. The offense built an insurmountable lead heading into the break as they went on two 14-0 runs to cruise to a large halftime lead.
“We lost the second half,” APU head coach T.J. Hardeman. “You are never happy with losing a half. We felt like we were in good spots in the second half to play defense but sometimes we failed to be there.”
It also helped that the inside game of Hardeman and Maggie Dumphy (16-points) showed their superiority as Azusa Pacific outscored the Silverswoards 24-2 in the paint in the first half.
Katie Powell also had an outstanding night for the Cougars as she went 6 for 12 from the the field and scored 17-points on the night.
Other Cougars in double digits were Miriam Zabinsky with 10-points and Cyndie Jones with 11-points and five assists.
With two games remaining, Azusa Pacific will now position itself for the PacWest Conference tournament at Concordia University beginning on March 5.
GAME NOTES: The Cougars as a team outscored Chaminade 21-8 in second chance points….Dumphy also finished with six blocks and six steals to go along with eight rebounds for Azusa Pacific….The Cougars play Saturday against Cal Baptist at 5:30pm.
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