by By Joel Simeone
AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific built a big lead in the third quarter, then held on to claim victory in their home opener, defeating Seattle Pacific by a 69-57 final score Friday evening inside the Felix Event Center. Molly Whitmore and Kelly Heimburger tied for the team lead with 16 points in the win.
How It Happened: The Cougars never trailed, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes. TyLee Manuel got off to a hot start, scoring all six of her points in the opening quarter while the defense held the Falcons to just 4-17 shooting in the quarter, resulting in a 15-10 lead after one. Azusa Pacific slowly pulled away in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run over the first four minutes of the period and pushing their advantage to as much as 14 before Seattle Pacific closed the quarter with a small surge to get back within single digits at 30-22.
Seattle Pacific scored the first basket of the second half to cut the lead to six. That was when Azusa Pacific unleashed the full fury of their offense, going on an 18-0 run in just three and a half minutes. Amayah Kirkman was the star of this outburst, knocking down 3 three-point shots as part of the run. After a Whitmore three-point play, the Cougars enjoyed their largest advantage of the evening at 51-26 with a little over four minutes left in the third.
Turning Point: The Cougars would need that advantage, as the Falcons cut the margin in half by the end of the third quarter, and had climbed all the way back to within five points at 58-53 with four minutes to play. That’s when Heimburger took over. The junior forward came up with five points and two blocks down the stretch to stretch the Cougars’ lead back to 10 in the final minute, and the team was able to salt the game away at the free-throw line in the final minute.
By the Numbers: Heimburger and Whitmore tied for high scorer in the game, each with 16 points. They were joined in double figures by Paige Uyehara, who had 14; and Kirkman, who scored 13. Whitmore grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds, while Uyehara added 5 assists. The Cougar defense held Seattle Pacific to 33% shooting for the game, including 5-19 from beyond the arc, and forced 20 turnovers on the night. While the Falcons still lead the all-time series 9-5, this was the Cougars’ fourth win in the last 5 meetings.
