by SAN DIEGO, Calif. – In both of Michael Jordan’s three-peats in the 1990s, the third title was by far the hardest one to finish. Azusa Pacific’s women’s basketball team can now personally attest to that truth, as more than the regulation 40 minutes were required for the Cougars to defeat Fresno Pacific in the 2024 PacWest Tournament final, outlasting the Sunbirds 72–67 in overtime Saturday evening at Point Loma.
How It Happened: The two sides traded baskets repeatedly in the opening minutes, with the score tied twice, though the Cougars did not trail at any point in the first half. Azusa Pacific began to open up a lead in the latter half of the period, as Molly Whitmore and Kelly Heimburger knocked down multiple shots, allowing the Cougars to take a 20-13 lead after one. In the second quarter, Azusa Pacific scored the first five points to stretch the lead to double figures, and while the Sunbirds stayed within shouting distance, the Cougars would score the final six points of the half to regain an 11-point advantage at intermission, 35-24. When Amayah Kirkman opened the third quarter with a three to put the top-seeded Cougars up by 14, one could be forgiven for briefly thinking the game was well in hand.
But that’s when everything changed. Likely remembering how the third quarter had gone between the two sides last Saturday, the Sunbirds set fire to the court following that score, making 6 three-pointers over the next six minutes of gameplay to take their first lead of the contest at 44-40. Down two with just two seconds left in the quarter, Kirkman got an inbounds pass in the front court, dribbled once, and threw up a prayer that barely left her hand before the buzzer and banked in to tie the game at 46-all.
The Cougars got the ball to Heimburger frequently to open the fourth, and she scored three of the Cougars’ first four baskets of the period. But the Sunbirds again went on a run, a 10-3 outburst that put them ahead by three with less than three minutes to play. Paige Uyehara stepped up, as she has time and again in her career, scoring six points for the Cougars down the stretch, including back-to-back shots in the final 20 seconds of regulation to tie the game at 63-all and send the contest to an extra five minutes.
Overtime was a defensive slog, with a Heimburger jumper scoring the only points in the first four minutes of the period. But Whitmore came through with a layup to make it a two-possession lead. After a Sunbird three, the shot clock was off and Fresno Pacific was forced to foul. Uyehara made two more free throws to put the lead at three. And the most critical play of all: on the ensuing inbounds pass, the Cougars forced a five-second violation. Free throws from Kirkman and Whitmore would salt the game away over the final seconds, giving the Cougars their three-peat.
By the Numbers: Uyehara was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after a 17-point, 3-assist, 3-steal effort while logging 44 minutes in the title game. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Whitmore, who had her second straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds; and Kirkman, who had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the contest. Heimburger had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. And TyLee Manuel rounded out the starting lineup with 14 rebounds and 3 assists. This is the fourth PacWest Tournament title all-time for Azusa Pacific, and their third in a row. The Cougars have won seven consecutive games over those three tournaments, which ties Hawai’i Pacific (2018-20) for the longest winning streak in the history of the tournament.
