Junior forward Sendy Valles posted a game-high 20 points against Dominican Tuesday night.
Courtesy: APU Sports Information
Kelly Hardeman and Allison Greene watched from the sideline Tuesday night as their teammates put together a 79-59 win over Dominican.
Head coach TJ Hardeman recognized the challenge presented being without two of the team’s top three scorers, however, expressed faith in the Cougar’s defensive talents as well as the construction of a balanced offense in Hardeman and Greene’s absence.
“We talked about defensive rebounding as what we wanted to depend on,” said Hardeman. “Then offensively we said, ‘Hey we’re going to be very balanced. We don’t need you to do stuff you haven’t done in the past, but we need you to be ready to shoot.’”
And ready they were.
Four Cougars scored in double figures. Junior forward Sendy Valles led with 20 points, followed by junior guards Katie Powell and Sullivan Ziegler with 12 apiece and freshman forward Maggie Dumphy with 11 on the night.
“I told them, ‘That’s the mark up of a good team, you have lots of good players,'” said Hardeman. “Not everyone gets those opportunities. Different people got more opportunities tonight and they made good use of those opportunities.”
The Cougars shot an impressive 57.1 percent from behind the arc, making their 12 3-pointers performance a season-high. Valles finished with six, followed by Powell with four and sophomore guard Elena Ala with two.
“There were shots there because we were big and looking inside and they were collapsing and so those outside ones were there,” said Hardeman.
Additionally, the Cougars posted 23 assists on their 30 baskets, exhibiting the balanced offense.
The Cougars will travel to San Diego on Friday for a conference matchup against Point Loma.