GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- For the second straight season, the Azusa Pacific women’s basketball team has opened its season with a pair of road victories in the state of Montana, completing the weekend sweep of Frontier Conference opponents with an 84-73 victory over Great Falls (Mont.) Saturday night.
Azusa Pacific’s frontcourt trio of Kristie Hala’ufia, Kristel Eddington and Amber Williams combined for 34 points and 28 rebounds as the NAIA’s No. 10-ranked Cougars dominated the boards with a 49-29 rebounding margin. Five different Cougars scored in double figures, led by Eddington’s 14 and a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double from Hala’ufia. Azusa Pacific grabbed 19 offensive boards, equaling the Great Falls defensive rebounding total off Cougar misses.
Junior guards C.J. Hill (12 points) and Michelle Byrd (11 points) were back in double figures for the second consecutive night, and junior Teri Higgenbottom scored all 11 of her points in the opening half to help the Cougars to a 40-36 halftime lead.
“Teri really picked us up when we needed it in the first half, and Michelle (Byrd) took over in the second half,” said Azusa Pacific head coach T.J. Hardeman. “We’re still working out the kinks and have plenty of room for improvement, but opening the season on the road with a couple of wins is definitely a huge positive.”
The Cougars iced the game in the second half, shooting 52 percent (16-for-31) from the field after halftime while knocking down 10-of-12 free throws to seal the victory. Wiliams scored 8 points with 12 rebounds and a block, and she was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 2-0 on the season, and the Cougars host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College, another Frontier Conference member, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 5) at Northview High School in Covina. Azusa Pacific’s first game in its Felix Event Center home is the Dec. 1 Golden State Athletic Conference opener against The Master’s College.
Follow Cougar Athletics online with Twitter updates, at twitter.com/APUCougars. Cougar Athletics is also available on all web-enabled devices through Azusa Pacific’s mobile website: www.apu.edu/m.
