IRVINE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific won the battle of the top-2 teams in the conference standings on Saturday, beating Hawai`i Hilo convincingly, 79-57, allowing Academy of Art to move into second place in the conference standings.
The Cougars have won nine games in a row and have now earned their first win over a regionally ranked team.
Alex Lowden scored a season-high 21 points in the win, and
Laura Pranger contributed three blocks and 11 rebounds.
Paige Uyehara, who leads the PacWest in assists, had 10 as Azusa Pacific opened the game on a 9-0 run and never trailed.
Fresno Pacific got its second conference win of the season at home against Concordia, putting the Sunbirds inside the now-expanded playoff picture.
Felicia Dourva caught fire in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game with five minutes left. Then in the final minute, she hit a dagger from beyond the arc to give the Sunbirds a 67-63 lead before going on to win 70-67.
Academy of Art picked up a second-consecutive victory, beating Chaminade on Monday to eventually move into second place in the PacWest.
Lauryn Manns scored a team-high 14 points off the bench and
Alisha Wilson also came off the bench to contribute an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double for the 6-2 Urban Knights.
This week, all three of the Hawai`i schools will be in Southern California for several key contests. Academy of Art will join them in Southern California to play against Biola and Azusa Pacific over the weekend. Dominican will also be on the road to face Fresno Pacific and Holy Names. Dominican will also host the Hawks on Wednesday.
Weekly awards for the week of Jan. 17-23
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Michaela VanderKlugt, Concordia
C, Gr., 6-1 -- Concord, Calif.
VanderKlugt has now set the conference record for most PacWest weekly awards being named Freshman of the Week three times, Defender of the Week once and Player of the Week eight times for a total of 13 awards. VanderKlugt started the week by becoming the PacWest’s all-time leader in rebounds. She tallied nine rebounds against Fresno Pacific, breaking the career rebounds record previously held by Roya Rustamzada. VanderKlugt added 11 more rebounds against Point Loma to reach 1,024 career boards. She also scored 26 points in 22 minutes against Fresno Pacific and added 16 more against Point Loma. She has scored at least 11 points in every game this year. VanderKlugt finished the week with one block and three steals and boosted her 3-point percentage over the .400 mark. Concordia is now in fifth place in the PacWest standings.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Alex Lowden, Azusa Pacific
G, Jr., 5-9 -- Glendora, Calif.
Azusa Pacific remains undefeated in the PacWest after earning wins this week against Holy Names and Hawai`i Hilo. The Cougars’ defense was key to both of those wins, holding opponents to an average of just 48 points per game, which was the lowest in the PacWest last week by a large margin. Lowden recorded six steals on the week with three steals in each win as she led the conference in total steals. She also recorded a block in each game and had a total of 11 rebounds. Lowden now has three-consecutive games with at least five rebounds, two steals and one block. Lowden also had a big impact on the offensive end as she led the conference in field-goal percentage. She went 8 for 9 from the field, including 4 for 4 from beyond the arc for 21 points against Hawai`i Hilo. She also contributed seven assists in the two wins. Lowden has a total of 28 steals this season, which is only six shy of the conference leader.