by Kristilyn Hetherington, APU communications
AZUSA, Calif.– Winning their 12th consecutive game in a row, No. 3 Azusa Pacific recorded a season high of 106 points while holding Academy of Art to 65. With five players scoring in the double digits, the team improved their overall record to 15-1 with an 11-0 PacWest record.
Paige Uyehara led the team with 23 points, shooting 8-15 from the FG range and 3-6 from the three. She also added four blocks, five assists, and four steals against the Urban Knights. Amayah Kirkman (Acoma Pueblo) tied her career-high 16 points shooting a perfect game; 5-5 FG, 4-4 from the three, and 2-2 from the FT line. Defensively, Laura Pranger stiffled the Urban Knights in the paint, erasing nine shots. She also scored 13 points in the contest.
Molly Whitmore totaled 15 points of her own with six rebounds to score in the double digits for her fifth consecutive game. TyLee Manuel also shot a perfect game, going 4-4 from the FG range and 2-2 behind the line to round out 10 points of her own.
How it Happened: From the beginning, the Cougars took a four point lead and only extended it from there. The team opened with a triple each from Shaw, Pranger, Lowden, and two from Uyehara.
To start the second quarter, the Cougars went on a 8-point scoring run followed by a 3-point play from Uyehara to put the team at an 18 point advantage. The Urban Knights were able to bring the game within 14 which would be the closest they would get to the Cougars for the rest of the game. Kelly Heimburger scored the last points of the half to put the score at 27-46.
Whitmore took control of the third quarter scoring seven of her 15 points across the 10 minute period. The team started to heat up shooting 68% from the FG range, 66% from behind the three, and 75% from the charity stripe in the third quarter.
In the final quarter of the game, Manuel scored 8 of her 10 points within the first 6 minutes of the period to bring the team to 35 point lead. Following that, Kirkman capped off her shooting with her fourth triple of the game and helped close out the game.
Azusa Pacific totaled two 30 point quarters in a row to carry the team to it’s 41 point victory.
