GETTING EVEN
Box Score
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Azusa Pacific's comeback win Jan. 20 did not have its fully intended effect.
The Lancers, who watched a golden opportunity to upend the NAIA's then No. 16-ranked Cougars slip away in the final 6 minutes, have been plotting revenge since, and pulled it off in tonight's, 91-79, victory over No. 12 Azusa Pacific.
“We were mad after that loss,” said California Baptist guard Nicole Davis, who scored 31 points while doling out 10 assists and grabbing 10 steals. “We felt like we had them beat last time, but we just stopped making plays when it counted.”
“Coach (Steve Sain) kept telling us that it's 40-minute game and you can't take a minute off,” said Davis. “We were able to get them on the run and keep them there throughout the game, which is so important with a team like that.”
With just one game left on the GSAC schedule?Monday night vs. Concordia?the win bumps the Lancers up to a full game ahead of Concordia for sole possession of seventh place in the conference, with a record of 16-12, 8-11.
The win also assures the Lancers of their first winning season in 15 years when the 1992 set of Lancers finished 19-12.
Azusa Pacific's 8-game winning streak against the Lancers is snapped, as the Cougars fall to 22-6, 14-5.
Davis, who notched 21 second-half points, hit only one trey on 6 attempts and went 4-for-6 at the free-throw line, but was able to get inside frequently enough to go 13-for-21 from the field.
As a team, the Lancers forced 26 turnovers?9 by Davis?and handed out just 9 giveaways for the win. Davis also paced the field with 10 assists, as CBU capitalized with 34 points directly from turnovers to the Cougars' 12 points off Lancer turnovers.
“This is the time of year that we need to be playing our best ball,” said Sain, whose team beats Azusa Pacific for the first time in his three years at the helm. “It's not so much the win over APU that's important, but our team coming together. We made it about us playing within ourselves regardless of who we're playing against and it worked tonight.”
After building a 10-point lead heading to the break, the Lancers kept their momentum alive, as Erin Greenberg (13 points) and Davis scored 5 and 4 points, respectively, in a 9-0 rally to make the score 53-44 with 15:41 remaining in the game.
Despite a 3-for-10 second-half effort from beyond the arc, the Lancers held a double-digit lead throughout the final 6 minutes?the same duration of time in which Azusa Pacific had come back with a 15-2 game-winning run Jan. 20.
Brandie McCann, who scored 17 points and dealt out 5 assists, tallied 7 points in the final 3 minutes, as she was sent to the line a total of 13 times altogether, converting on 85 percent (11-for-13) of her opportunities from the charity stripe. The Lancers were a combined 23-for-29 (79 percent) from the free-throw line.
After falling behind, 4-10, thanks to a 3-pointer each from Monica Somers and Sarah Leathers, the Lancers put together a quick 9-0 rally powered by 4 points from McCann to take a 13-10 lead 5 minutes into the first half.
The lead changed hands a total of 6 times throughout the first half, but Azusa Pacific never built more than a 3-point advantage in the final 15 minutes of the period, as the Lancers forced 17 Cougar turnovers and gave away only 3 of their own headed to the locker room.
