HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University kept it close early, but No. 3 Azusa Pacific was too strong as APU claimed an 81-64 PacWest Conference win Saturday afternoon at The Shark Tank.
The Sharks (4-13, 1-9) never led, but had the game within a point late in the opening quarter before the nationally ranked Cougars (17-1, 13-0) pulled away.
HPU was led by junior
Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman with 17 points and seven rebounds, as well as freshman
Jordyn Jensen of Truckee, Calif./Bishop Manogue with 14 points and seven boards. Junior
Tavia Rowell of Langley, B.C./Walnut Grove chipped in 13 points. Freshman
Allison Ross of Boise, Idaho/Boise, came off the bench with a game-high eight assists to go with six rebounds.
Azusa got a game-high 20 points from Kayla Shaw, while Molly Whitmore just missed a double-double with 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Paige Uyehara added 16 points with seven assists. Alex Lowden also had nine boards.
The Sharks shot 35 percent (22-of-63) from the floor, including 8-of-26 (31 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU was 12-of-17 (71 percent) from the foul line. The Cougars shot 45 percent (32-of-71) from the field, with 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the arc. APU hit 9-of-13 (69 percent) from the charity stripe. APU outrebounded HPU 49-34 as both teams turned the ball over 18 times.
APU never trailed in the game, going on a 9-0 run as part of an 11-1 opening to the contest. However the Sharks got a 3-pointer from Cargill to start an 8-0 run of their own. The teams swapped scores before HPU closed it to a one-point contest with a 3-pointer from grad student
Julia Razo of Woodland, Calif./St. Francis to make it 18-17 with 1:36 to go in the quarter. The Cougars closed with the next five points for a 23-17 lead after one.
In the second, APU added an 8-0 run to start the second to retake a double-digit lead on their way to a 46-32 halftime advantage.
The Cougars dominated the third quarter on the way to a 69-44 lead, but HPU responded with a strong final quarter. The Sharks outscored the Cougars 20-12 on the way to APU's 81-64 final.
The Sharks started a four-game streak in Honolulu, as they face Hawai'i Hilo in a rescheduled contest on Tuesday at The Shark Tank. Tipoff is set for 4: 30 p.m.
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