JACKSON, Tenn. — Azusa Pacific reached last year’s NAIA tournament final, and on Saturday the Cougars played like a team determined to make it back to the last game.
Third-ranked Azusa Pacific got double-digit scoring from six players and steamrolled No. 22 Lubbock Christian University 79-54 at Oman Arena, ending the Lady Chaparrals’ NAIA tournament run in the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t create enough good breaks and they’re really, really good,” LCU coach Steve Gomez said. “We were going to have to play solid and shoot it normal or a little better than normal, and we didn’t. We did not score well.”
Junior guard Eboni Sadler, a major-college transfer from Miami, scored 21 points as the Cougars (31-5) won for the 20th time in their last 21 games and broke the school single-season victories record.
Azusa Pacific will play a semifinal game at 8 p.m. Monday against the winner of Saturday’s late game between No. 2 Campbellsville, Ky., and No. 7 Freed-Hardeman, Tenn.
LCU ended the season 23-10, rallying from a 4-5 record at Christmas to make the national quarterfinals for the third time in six years. It was the last game for LCU seniors Lauren Sparks, Renee Wilson, Whitney Wehmeyer, Severyn Smith and Rachel Gray. All five were coming off the bench at the end of the season, contributing to a 10-player rotation.
“They were so committed to team,” Gomez said. “They were committed to the whole and not themselves, not only with what they did on the court. They were fun and high-character players. We never had concerns about attitude, behavior, examples ... . They just did all those things well.”
The Lady Chaps got 16 points from freshman forward Emily Atkins and 12 from junior guard April Ehlers from Cooper, but were in trouble almost from the start. They trailed 36-16 in the first half, cut the gap to 42-30 by halftime and never really threatened.
Ehlers hit a fall-away jumper that pulled LCU within 54-43, but shortly thereafter Azusa Pacific mounted a 9-0 run to build the lead to 69-45. Sadler started the run with a three-point play and ended it with a basket.
Michelle Byrd and Alex Moore-Porter scored 13 points for the Cougars, and Briana Hall, Kristie Hala’ufia and Amber Williams added 10 apiece.
Azusa Pacific shot 50 percent and out-rebounded LCU 41-31. That and the Lady Chaps’ offensive struggles kept them from sustaining any runs. They shot 30 percent for the game.
“They played good, and we weren’t quite aggressive enough,” Gomez said. “Offensively early, we missed some shots. We just didn’t shoot it well from the perimeter like we hoped to. It has to do with defense, but sometimes it has to do with not making shots.”
NAIA TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL
at Oman Arena, Jackson, Tenn.
AZUSA (CALIF.) PACIFIC 79, LCU 54
LCU — Ehlers 4-9 3-3 12, Atkins 5-13 3-3 16, C.Wilson 2-3 0-0 5, Hampton 1-9 0-0 2, Burton 0-8 0-0 0, Gray 1-3 2-2 5, Smith 2-3 2-2 7, Sparks 1-3 0-0 3, Wehmeyer 1-4 0-1 2, R.Wilson 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 18-60 10-11 54.
AZUSA PACIFIC — Sadler 7-11 7-10 21, Moore-Porter 4-9 4-5 13, Williams 3-5 4-6 10, Byrd 4-9 0-0 11, Hall 3-8 3-4 10, Hala’ufia 4-8 2-3 10, Hill 1-2 0-0 2, Hughes 0-0 0-0 0, Kenny 0-0 0-0 0, Raber 0-0 2-3 2, Reed 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 22-31 79.
Halftime score: Azusa 42, LCU 30. 3-point goals: LCU 8-28 (Atkins 3-6, C.Wilson 1-1, Smith 1-1, Gray 1-2, Sparks 1-3, Ehlers 1-4, Wehmeyer 0-1, Hampton 0-4, Burton 0-6), Azusa 5-15 (Byrd 3-7, Moore-Porter 1-2, Hall 1-4, Sadler 0-1, Hill 0-1). Total fouls: LCU 25, Azusa 22. Fouled out: Moore-Porter. Rebounds: LCU 31 (Smith 4, R.Wilson 4), Azusa 41 (Hala’ufia 8). Assists: LCU 13 (Sparks 4), Azusa 11 (Hall 5). Steals: LCU 7 (C.Wilson 2, Gray 2, Sparks 2), Azusa 7 (Hall 3). Turnovers: LCU 19 (Atkins 5, R.Wilson 5), Azusa 19 (Hall 5, Moore-Porter 5). Blocked shots: LCU 0, Azusa 3 (Williams 2). Records: LCU 23-10, Azusa 31-5.
