APU improves to 20-3 after closer-than-expected win against Cal Baptist
What seemed to be a dominant victory for the 19th ranked Azusa Pacific women’s basketball team turned into an unexpected and thrilling victory. In their final meet against Cal Baptist as a PacWest opponent, the Cougars earned a 76-71 win, sweeping the Lancers this season.
APU head coach T.J. Hardeman was proud of his team’s ability to finish strong and win against CBU.
“When you play a rivalry game like that you know that it is not going to be easy. I am proud of us. We started off strong, played well and we hit a lull then they played well,” Hardeman said. “The team responded and said ‘game on’ and played well and that’s fun. It’s almost like getting two wins. We had them once, let them back in, then beat them again.”
APU held a 16-point lead at one time during the first half of play as Cal Baptist struggled shooting the ball with their only success coming from giving the ball to their big players in the paint. After the half, the Lancers came out more aggressive as the Cougars fell flat, and with eight minutes left in the fourth, CBU got the lead for the first time in the game, 63-61. Neither team held a lead over two points for the remainder of the game until the final minute.
“I think that we had stopped communicating on defense, got a little lazy and let our man beat us,” sophomore guard Savanna Hanson said regarding CBU’s comeback. “We had to get back into it and say, ‘we are not going to lose this game.’ That’s when things started to turn around and I think that shows how gritty our team is.”
In addition, the Cougars were also without two of their star players – senior forward Gabrielle Kaiser and senior guard Tara Casey, who are both out with injury. Even with the Cougars losing their lead and down a few players, the team never got discouraged. Instead, they held onto the simple mindset that they were not going to lose this game.
“Our team has so much grit. We could have let [CBU’s comeback] define us, but we made sure that we had the final say in the game,” sophomore guard Zoe March said. “We can come together, make big shots, make great plays of defense and we proved that tonight. I’m grateful that we did not give up at the end. We got the win and we give glory to God in everything we do.”
Hanson led the scoring effort for the Cougars on the night, leading the team with 27 points and nine rebounds. Hanson had 21 points in the first half alone, but she made a few keys shots in the second half when needed most when trailing late in the game. Both her coach and teammates have high praise for the way she played against Cal Baptist.
“[Hanson] was awesome,” Hardeman said. “She just plays so hard and is passionate about the game. She wants to be good and she wants to be good at it.”
March noted how Hanson is the most competitive person that she knows and that this is nothing unusual from the fellow sophomore.
“She does not take anything lightly and is the most competitive person I know, so for her to come out here and have a big game like that, I am so proud of her,” March said. “She deserves that and it’s something that we expect every day.”
Hanson, who admits that she was coming out of a small slump, has also been dealing with a case of strep throat this week as well.
Senior guard Abbigail Goodsell was second on the team with 13 points on the night, while March was third with 11 points scored.
With the win, the Cougars improve to an overall record of 20-3 on the season, which includes an 11-2 conference record. APU will play their next game on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. against the Concordia Eagles in the Felix Event Center.