Cyndie Jones leads the way for Azusa Pacific.
By Andy Villanueva
(Azusa) – The cross-county rivalry didn’t disappoint as Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist played an overtime thriller at the Felix Event Center, as the Cougars prevailed 92-84.
“We talk all year that we have energy and enthusiasm the entire game,” said Azusa Pacific head coach T.J. Hardeman. “I thought we did a great job of being the aggressor tonight. When we are the aggressor we are very hard to beat. We stressed it all week.”
With both teams headed into the PacWest Conference Tournament, the only issue in doubt was if the Cougars could spoil the Lancers attempt at a number one seed.
Miriam Zabinsky drops two in on Cal Baptist.
With 1:04 remaining in the game, Kelly Hardeman blocked her second shot of the game on Dasha Burnside’s layup attempt after a pick-and-roll allowed her a clear path to the basket. Hardeman then grabbed the loose ball and found Cyndie Jones open for a fast-break layup to give the Cougars a 85-84 lead with 1:00 remaining in overtime.
It appeared that APU were on their way to a regulation victory with 2:31 remaining as Cal Baptist had called their final timeout after Kamille Diaz hit her sixth three-pointer of the game.
With a game that had highs and lows throughout, the Lancers were still in it late in part to Burnside and Diaz.
Diaz’s desperation three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining sent the game into overtime.
The duo of Hardeman and Jones accounted for 51 points on the evening in which four starters scored in double-digits. Hardeman finished with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season. She also broke the school record with her 130th block with seven minutes remaining in the game. Jones scored a season-high of 25 points to go along with 14 rebounds and four assists.
“She (Jones) was awesome tonight,” said Hardeman. “We have challenged her, she has had other games like this. She is getting better and better now at directing what we want to do on offense.”
The Cougars started the contest red-hot going six of nine from three-point range as Hardeman and Jones went three for four early in the game. Katie Powell added two more treys to help Azusa Pacific build a 21-8 lead.
Burnside (20 points and 18 rebounds) and Diaz kept the game close for the Lancers as they hurt the Cougars inside and out. Burnside finished with her conference leading 17th double-double and Diaz tied her season-high in scoring with 29 points.
As time was winding down for Cal Baptist, APU left no doubt the game was over as they went seven of eight from the charity stripe in the final seconds.
The Cougars finish out the regular season at home on February 28 as they face Fresno Pacific during a 1pm tip-off.
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