LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team needed a bounce-back performance Saturday and the Golden Eagles got it against NCAA Division II West Region opponent Azusa Pacific.

The Golden Eagles surged to second-half leads as large as 14 points and held off a late Cougar flurry to post a 67-63 victory in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (6-2) was coming off a disappointing California Collegiate Athletic Association road loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday, but put together a much better effort on Saturday against Azusa Pacific (5-3).

Cal State L.A. had a 14-point lead with two minutes to play, but Azusa Pacific made things interesting by hitting four 3-pointers down the stretch and getting to within three points with six seconds to play. Paige Melville then knocked down a free throw to end the suspense.

Melville led three Golden Eagles in double figures with 16 points and she also had a team-high five assists. Destinee La Fountain had a big game for the Golden Eagles with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Kaija Powell had 12 points.

Kelly Hardeman had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead Azusa Pacific, while Allison Greene had 16 points.

Cal State L.A. shot 43.4 percent for the game (23-of-53), while Azusa Pacific was held to 31.7 percent shooting (20-of-63). The Golden Eagles did a nice job limiting the Cougars to only two 3-pointers until the final two minutes of the game when Azusa Pacific struck for four more.

The Golden Eagles were just 2-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc. The Golden Eagles were 19-of-28 from the free-throw line, while the Cougars were 17-of-24.

Cal State L.A. was out-rebounded, 48-34, but forced 19 turnovers while committing 15.

Alisha Belt had nine points and had three steals for the Golden Eagles, while Aiwekhoe Okungbowa had seven points and three rebounds.

Cal State L.A. erased an early 6-3 deficit with an 8-0 run and led the rest of the way. Melville put the Golden Eagles ahead with a pair of free throws, Olivia Sheehan followed with a layup after a steal by Richelle Najera and Melville hit a jumper to give the Golden Eagles an 11-6 edge.

The Cougars pulled to within two points, 13-11, before a 3-pointer by Shanice Jackson stopped the run. The Golden Eagles stretched their lead to 28-20 after a layup by Okungbowa with three minutes to go, but Azusa Pacific sliced the lead to 28-24 by halftime.

Cal State L.A. opened up a 14-point lead, 46-32, after a 3-pointer by Melville with 11:20 to go and, after Azusa Pacific trimmed the deficit to 50-42, after a layup by Maggie Dumphy with four minutes to go, Bree Parsons hit a jumper and Okungbowa converted a three-point play to stretch the lead back to 13 points, 55-42, with 2:40 to go.

Kaija Powell scored on a layup to make it 59-45 and Melville hit two free throws to keep the lead at 13 points, 61-48, with 1:30 remaining. Hardeman gave the Cougars three straight 3-pointers when she hit a long-distance shot to make it 61-54 before a pair of free throws by Powell made it 63-54 with less than a minute remaining.

A 3-pointer by Azusa Pacific's Katie Powell made it 65-61 and, after a free throw by Melville, Greene scored a layup to make it 66-63 with just six seconds left. A free throw by Melville completed the scoring.

Cal State L.A. will now be off until returning to CCAA action with a home game against San Francisco State on Friday, Jan. 3.