IRVINE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific and Biola squared off in a battle of undefeated PacWest teams, and the Cougars won, 86-72, to become one of just two undefeated teams remaining in PacWest play alongside Dominican.
 
Paige Uyehara scored a game-high 28 points in the win and had six rebounds and four assists, while making 6 of 10 shots from beyond the arc. Kayla Shaw added 20 points by making 5 of 7 treys and Laura Pranger registered five blocks to reach 22 blocks in three games.
 
Dominican snapped a six-game losing streak to Fresno Pacific, which won the NorCal Pod last season, with a 73-67 home victory on Saturday. The Penguins are now 2-0 in conference play, which is the team’s best start since the 2018-19 season when they reached regionals.
 
Academy of Art improved to 5-4 on the season by picking up road wins against Concordia and Point Loma. The Urban Knights were picked behind both teams in the preseason poll, but beat them both on the road with strong defensive performances. It is the first time since 2016 that Academy of Art has beaten both teams in the same season. Alyssa Munn finished the week with 33 points, nine assists and five steals.
 
Hawai`i Hilo also defeated two teams that were favored over the Vulcans in the preseason poll, topping Point Loma and Hawai`i Pacific. Mandi Kawaha registered 42 points and eight assists in the two wins. It was the Vulcans’ second win in 30 meetings against Hawai`i Pacific, snapping the Sharks’ 25-game winning streak that dated back to 2012.
 
This week, Academy of Art, Dominican and Holy Names will all get a chance to take on Western Washington, which is undefeated and ranked second in the West Region.
 
Weekly awards for the week of Dec. 6-12
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Riley Friauf, Dominican
F, Gr., 6-1 -- Vancouver, Wash.
Friauf remains the PacWest’s leading scorer after she scored a season-high 33 points against Fresno Pacific on Saturday. That is the most points in a single game in the PacWest so far this season and the second time that Friauf has eclipsed 30 points for Dominican. Her performance led the Penguins to a 73-67 win over Fresno Pacific after the Sunbirds had won the last six meetings between the two teams. It was the first time since 2017 that Dominican defeated Fresno Pacific in the Conlan Center. Friauf tallied a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with her 33 points for her fourth double-double this season. She made 12 of 25 shots in the win and 9 of 11 free throws, and had a stretch of six minutes during the fourth quarter in which she scored 10 points. Friauf is now averaging 23.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, ranking third nationally in scoring.
 
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Alisha Wilson, Academy of Art
F, Fr., 6-2 -- Pomona, Calif.
Wilson became the PacWest leader in rebounds this season last week as she helped Academy of Art claim a pair of wins during their first trip to Southern California. The Urban Knights defeated Concordia and Point Loma to improve to 2-1 in conference play. The freshman opened the week with a block, two steals and four rebounds in the win over Concordia. It was her second-consecutive game with multiple steals after recording six against Dominican the previous week. She kept that streak going against Point Loma with two more steals to go along with her four blocks and season-high 18 rebounds. Those 18 rebounds are tied for the second-most in a single game so far this season in the PacWest, giving her 11.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 19th in NCAA Division II. She also ranks in the top-20 in the nation for blocks with an average of 2.22 per game. As a team, Academy of Art now leads the conference in rebounds, blocks and steals.