AZUSA, Calif. -- It's been said that you can never have too much of a good thing, and Azusa Pacific women's basketball would certainly support that claim. The Cougars' offense revolved around junior forward Abby Johnson, and senior guard Alyssa Ferdaszewski led a suffocating defense that forced visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills into 22 turnovers in a 77-52 nonconference victory over the Toros Wednesday night.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 4-3 on the season, while Cal State Dominguez Hills drops to 2-1.
Johnson finished with a career-high 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field. She scored the first 2 baskets of the game, sparking a 15-4 Cougar run over the first 5 and a half minutes to start the game, then scored the final 2 baskets in the final minute of the half to follow a Sarah Leathers trey for a 7-point run to close the half. Led by Johnson's 16 first-half points, the Cougars led 37-26 at halftime.
Ferdaszewski dished out a career-high 13 assists, orchestrating a 14-3 run early in the second half to extend a 10-point Cougar lead into a commanding 55-34 advantage with 13:24 to play. Ferdaszewski started the run by setting up back-to-back baskets in the post by Johnson and senior guard Monica Somers, then set up Leathers for a pair of 3-pointers to cap the run.
A stifling Cougar defense limited the Toros to 33 percent (19-for-58) shooting from the field, although Cal State Dominguez Hills collected 21 offensive rebounds en route to a 40-30 rebounding advantage over Azusa Pacific. The Cougars also forced 22 Toros turnovers, led by Ferdaszewski's season-high 4 steals. Johnson added a pair of blocks in 36 minutes of action for Azusa Pacific.
Somers added 16 points for the Cougars, who shot 58 percent (34-for-59) from the field, including a 56 percent (5-for-9) clip from 3-point range. Leathers finished with 9 points, all on 3-point baskets.
Cal State Dominguez Hills was paced by junior forward Alana Bailey's 11 points and 6 rebounds, along with sophomore center Ennisha Kyles' 10-point, 7-rebound performance. Point guard Jessica Liang added 8 points a team-high 4 assists, knocking down 2 of the Toros' 3 3-pointers.
The Toros return to action Friday night when they step out of conference again to host Grand Canyon University. Tip is at 5:30 p.m.
