It didn’t take long for the No. 1-seeded Cougars to go down in the PacWest Tournament, snapping a nine-game win streak
It was not an easy day for the Azusa Pacific women’s basketball team. After finishing the regular season with a record of 27-3, earning the first-seed in the PacWest Tournament, a first-round bye and riding a nine-game win streak, the 16th-ranked Cougars went down to the Point Loma Sea Lions 76-68 in the semi-finals of the PacWest Tournament.
The Cougars had beaten Point Loma twice this season, but their mistakes in this third matchup had cost them. The Cougars performed well defensively, but struggled on offense, finding and missing many open shots on the night.
“When you can’t make shots, you don’t win games,” head coach T.J. Hardeman said. “We took 24 more shots than they did and only made one more than they did. We were working hard but our shots didn’t go in, and theirs did. They shot well, and we didn’t.”
The Cougars connected on just 25 of their 82 shot attempts (30.5 percent), as it was their second-worst shooting effort of the season, only behind a four-point loss to Dixie State back in December of 2017.
“No doubt we were getting open shots, but it comes down to small mechanics when you’re not hitting [your shots],” senior guard Abbigail Goodsell said.
Goodsell led the team in both points (19) and rebounds (11) on the night, while fellow senior forward Gabrielle Kaiser was right behind her with 12 points scored. Sophomore’s Savanna Hanson and Rachel Bozlee also contributed to the scoring effort, scoring 10 points each.
“When we shoot like this, anyone is capable of beating us. If we shoot a little bit closer to the way we usually shoot, we’re capable of beating anybody. We’re discouraged we lost this game, but we also feel like we could go and not lose another game, very easily.”
The loss to Point Loma eliminates the Cougars from the PacWest Tournament, but their season is not over yet. They have secured a spot to play the NCAA Division II West Region Championships, with the possibility of hosting their first game.
“[This loss], it’s something that we don’t need to hang our heads about. This next week is going to be really important for us to focus and get ready for our next step. The season isn’t over for us yet,” Goodsell said.
The eight-team event begins on Friday, March 9 with the match-ups and location being revealed on Sunday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
UPDATE : Even with the recent loss, the Cougars were still selected as the No. 1-seed in the West Region on Sunday, March 4th. Azusa Pacific will host the West Region at the Felix Event Center in Azusa, Calif. beginning on March 9th. The Cougars will face off against the No. 8-seeded Humboldt State Lumberjacks in the first round at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 9.
Fellow PacWest opponent Hawaii Pacific has also made it into the tournament as the No. 2 seed.