APU fell to Hawaii Pacific in the PacWest semifinals.
(IRVINE) – The PacWest tournament is a “do or die” situation when needing to run the table. For Azusa Pacific the journey to the season came to an end as Hawaii Pacific went on a 18-6 run down the stretch to advance to the finals tomorrow afternoon with a 72-60 victory.
“They are a very good team,” said APU head coach T.J. Hardman. “It was fun to battle with them. I felt like we had some good stretches and did some good things. Our inability to score for a little bit hurt us.”
It was what you would expect in a “do or die” situation during the month of March. As the Cougars battled for 40 minutes only to come up short after shooting 32% from the field.
As badly as the APU shot from the field, they held the lead at 48-42 with twelve minutes remaining in the second half before fatigue started to set in.
Cydnie Jones and Kelly Hardeman each had a game-high of 20 points to lead the way. For Hardeman it was her 16th double-double of the season while Jones had her 7th double-double
Azusa Pacific got cold at the wrong time as Hawaii Pacific finally was able to string together points with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Senior Kylie Huerta led the charge hitting a three-pointer with four Cougar defenders in her face to give the Sharks a lead they would never relinquish.
Huerta ended the game with a team-high 20 points and Chenis Peone contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds for Hawaii Pacific.
Azusa Pacific was able to hold PacWest Conference Player of the Year Morganne Comstock to just 11 points in the game as defensively they held the Sharks to just 39% from the field.
The Sharks sprinted out to a 18-8 lead early in the first half as Breanna Mackenzie scored seven of the 18 points recorded with 12 minutes remaining.
The Cougars battled to take the lead late in the first half with 1:32 remaining as Hardeman hit a three-pointer. Huerta would answer with her own trey. Lauren Glister sent APU to the locker room with a one-point lead with two free throws to end the first half.
It will take quite a bit of luck for the Cougars to get an invitation into the NCAA Division II tournament after the loss.
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