AZUSA, Calif. – A strong first half and an eventual 16 3-pointers helped No. 17 Azusa Pacific women's basketball earn a 92-62 Pacific West Conference victory hosting Academy of Art inside the Felix Event Center on Thursday night. Leading the way, graduate student guard Tayler Bennett posted a team-high 24 points and junior guard/forward Lily Perkins finished with a double-double.

Fast-paced action early saw both teams connecting from long range, but the Cougars held a 16-9 lead at the first break. Junior forward Sankia Braxton came off the bench to provide important scoring down low before senior forward Ines Medina knocked down a 3-pointer amid what became a back-and-forth three-point shooting contest.

From a 30-16 APU lead at the end of the first quarter, the margin elevated to 23 by halftime, but Medina, Bennett, and freshman forward Aari'yanna Sanders worked to keep the difference from increasing much further early in the third quarter. Medina would hit her third triple to end the frame at 67-43 Azusa Pacific, but the home team grew their advantage in the fourth despite three more 3-pointers from Bennett in that quarter alone including one at the buzzer of what ended a 92-62 final score.

For Academy of Art, now 9-14 overall and 7-12 PacWest, Bennett scored 24 points for her second straight game with 20 or more, delivering six triples to move her to just 10 shy of the program's single-season record (78). She added seven rebounds and four assists while Perkins notched her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Medina contributed nine points on three shots from distance and Sanders totaled eight points as well.

Pacing Azusa Pacific to an overall record of 21-4 and 15-4 PacWest record was Savanna Hanson who finished with a game-high 26 points including eight 3-pointers.

The Urban Knights' Southern California roadtrip will conclude this Saturday, Feb. 22 with a stop in Irvine to face Concordia (Calif.) at 2:30 p.m.