MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Facing a 13-point deficit in the second half, the NAIA's No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific turned to senior guard Monica Somers to lead the Cougars to their second consecutive comeback victory, a 73-61 verdict over NAIA Division II’s No. 17-ranked William Jewell (Mo.) Monday morning at the 7th Annual Cruzin Classic on the campus of Barry University.
"What's it like? It's nuts. It's crazy. It's even better that we won," said Somers. "Thirty-six points in a loss doesn't mean anything, but 36 points and the fact that I know my teammates had my back and they were the ones pushing me and encouraging me... I mean, it's cool. My senior year – it's cool."
Somers scored 23 of her game-high 36 points in the second half, pouring in the bulk of them on aggressive drives to the basket that inevitably resulted in easy layups or a pair of free throws to spark a 35-9 run capped by 2 final free throws that gave the Cougars a 69-56 lead with 2:09 remaining in the game.
"I pretty much said to give me the ball and I'm driving every single time," said Somers. "That's what I'm talking about when I talk about my teammates having my back. No one said no, no one said, 'Let's run the offense,' everyone just said, 'Get her the ball and get out of her way.' I don't like to take it every time, because sometimes I make stupid decisions, but today I was willing to put the team on my back because that's what we needed and I just wanted to do everything I could to win."
With just over 10 minutes remaining, senior Alyssa Ferdaszewski pulled down 1 of her 6 rebounds and found a wide-open Somers at halfcourt for an uncontested layup that gave the Cougars their first lead of the second half at 52-51 with 10:02 remaining. After a William Jewell miss on the next Cardinals possession, Ferdaszewski pulled down the rebound and again found Somers for an identical layup just 30 seconds later.
"I was actually supposed to be the point guard, and I'm not used to going back and getting the ball," said Somers. "I was just in the backcourt, and their whole team went and hounded the ball when they got the rebound, so I just put my arms up and yelled and I was wide open. It worked, so I did it again."
Azusa Pacific found itself in a 39-32 hole at halftime after William Jewell held the Cougars without a field goal for a 5-minute stretch late in the half, using a 16-2 run to turn a 30-23 Cougar lead into a 7-point advantage for the Cardinals. William Jewell shot a blistering 57 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the opening half, including a 55 percent clip (6-for-11) from 3-point range.
"We definitely need to learn how to adjust a little better because that seems to be a little bit of a tendency for us," said Cougar head coach Danelle Bishop. "For the second half we talked about being more of a unit and staying focused on what we came here to do, and I thought they did a really good job of staying focused on that. It took us awhile to really get that momentum going, but once we had it, I knew it was ours."
In the second half, Azusa Pacific turned up the defensive effort and limited William Jewell to 21 percent (6-for-28) shooting in the second half. The Cougar defense forced the Cardinals into numerous low-percentage outside shots, then took control of the glass with a 24-13 rebounding edge after halftime. Senior forward Meliame Hala'ufia grabbed 10 of her game-high 12 rebounds in the second half, finishing 1 point shy of a double-double with 9 points.
"We definitely were bigger than they were," said Bishop. "We went to our zone even though they were good outside shooters, and we really focused on trying to communicate, get to the spots and not leave anybody open. I thought that was the best spurt we've had running our zone this year, and that really set the tone for us."
With 1:09 remaining in the game, Erica Ferguson pulled the Cardinals to within 9 points at 70-61, but Somers iced it with 3 free throws in the final minute to provide the final margin. Somers made 11-of-15 field goal attempts, including 7-of-9 in the second half, and she sank 13 of her 14 free throw attempts.
"Monica is getting a lot more confident with her left side and was able to drive both ways," said Bishop. "I think because she hit a couple outside shots early, they had to defend her on the outside, as well. We wanted the ball in her hands and I thought our girls did a really good job getting the ball into her hands."
Junior forward Abby Johnson added 14 points and 8 rebounds, and junior guard Kate Shipp came off the bench and scored all 6 of her points in the second half. Hala'ufia blocked 5 shots for the Cougars, and all 3 of Somers' steals came in the second half.
"I think this game was a huge confidence builder for us," said Bishop. "Again, I think we had people come off the bench that stepped up big-time, and that right there is a confidence builder for us."
William Jewell was led by Ferguson's 11-point, 9-rebound effort, and Hillary Adams added a team-high 13 points for the Cardinals. Haley Stockton knocked down all 3 of her 3-point attempts in the first half to finish with 9 points.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 7-3 and extends its winning streak to 5 straight, while William Jewell drops to 12-3 on the season. The Cougars return home to California this evening and are back in action to host the 7th Annual GSAC Challenge beginning Thursday, Dec. 28 at the Felix Event Center. Azusa Pacific meets McKendree (Ill.) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m.
