AZUSA, Calif.-- Back in November, Azusa Pacific's Jacqueline Godoy hit a pair of last second free throws to force overtime where the Cougars eventually pulled out an 87-79 win over Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego.
 
In almost a near repeat performance, Godoy again had the ball in her hands in the final seconds with the Cougars trailing by 2.  However, this time her lay-up attempt rattled off the rim, and the Crusaders held on for a 68-65 win over the NAIA's No. 19-ranked Cougars.
 
Point Loma clung to a 67-65 lead with 15 seconds remaining after Corey Zimbleman hit 1-of-2 free throws.  The Cougars pushed the ball to half court and called a timeout.  Godoy then received the ensuing inbounds pass and drove into the lane, getting a clean look at the bucket, but missed the lay-up.  Azusa Pacific's Stephanie Patten grabbed her fifth rebound of the game but missed the put back. The Crusaders grabbed the rebound and hit one free throw with 1.6 seconds left to ice the game.
 
Senior All-GSAC Catherine Solorio scored 2 of her game-high 15 points to give the Cougars a 50-45 lead with 8:43 remaining.  At that point, Point Loma went on an 11-2 run over 4:57 to take a 56-52 lead with 3:46 to play.
 
Over the next 10 possessions, the teams traded buckets until senior Beth Centlivre hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left, cutting the deficit down to one (66-65). The Cougars got no closer.
 
All night, the Cougars kept former GSAC Player of the Year and last year's conference leading scorer Erin Kellar in check.  Kellar finished with just 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting.  However, her teammates picked up the slack, and the Cougars fell victim to some blistering first half shooting by the Crusaders.
 
PLNU hit 6 three-pointers in the opening half to take a 21-11 lead halfway through the opening half.  However, the Cougars fought back to climb within one (32-31) at halftime.
 
For the third time this season, Godoy came within a few assists of recording her first career triple-double.  The 2001 GSAC Player of the Year finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.  Senior Ruth Taylor added 13 points, 10 of them in the second half and 6 of them coming on 3 straight possessions in the final 2 minutes.  Centlivre chipped in with 11 points and 4 rebounds.
 
With the loss, Azusa Pacific falls to 14-5 overall, 8-3 in the GSAC, falling into a first-place tie with Fresno Pacific (8-3).  FPU hosts Concordia tomorrow night.  Point Loma improves to 9-9, 7-5.