SURPRISE, Ariz. – Hope International pulled away from OUAZ with a monstrous fourth quarter, clinching the program's first Great Southwest Athletic Conference women's basketball regular season title with an 83-57 victory on Saturday at Faith Arena.
The Royals moved to 22-4 overall and won the GSAC with a 15-1 record, one game better than The Master's. HIU earned the No. 1 seed in the GSAC Tournament and drew fourth-seeded Benedictine Mesa in one semifinal matchup.
HIU transformed a five-point lead after three quarters into a 26-point rout on the strength of a 36-point fourth quarter. The Royals outscored the Spirit 36-15, with Jada Long scoring all 12 of her points in the period.
Nicole Chuang led the Royals with 19 points. Both she and Amira Austin shot 8 of 15 from the field, with Austin finishing with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Angelina De Leon added 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Royals posted single-game season-bests for field goal percentage (54.1%) and three-point field goal percentage (42.3%). Defensively, the Royals hounded OUAZ into 21 turnovers, with seven players accounting for 13 steals.
OUAZ trailed 47-42 following a Jana Solee three-point play to end the third quarter. Brianna Humphries got the Spirit as close as four, her triple narrowing the HIU lead to 49-45.
But the Royals responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, opening up a 57-45 cushion on De Leon's layup with 6:33 remaining. Long's three-pointer at the 5:33 mark expanded the lead to 63-47.
HIU hit its first seven shots and finished an incredible 14 of 16 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Chuang scored nine points to help the Royals build a 19-10 first quarter lead. OUAZ held HIU to just 12 points in the second period to trail just 31-25 at halftime. The two teams played a fairly even third quarter before HIU unleashed its offensive outburst over the final 10 minutes.
HIU's 22 wins represent the fourth-most in school history.
The GSAC Tournament semifinal contest between the Royals and Redhawks will be played at Darling Pavilion on Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m.