AZUSA, Calif. -- It's not Christmastime, but Azusa Pacific was apparently in the giving mood.

The NAIA's No. 24-ranked and third-seed Cougars missed 15 free throws, 9 of them in the final 5 and a half minutes, and as a result lost to sixth-seed The Master's, 75-73, in the opening round of the 2004 GSAC Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament.

While stinging now, the Cougars' NAIA Tournament at-large hopes should still be unharmed as the Cougars appear to ranked high enough in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll that came out earlier this week.

The Master's, which needs to win the GSAC Tournament to earn a spot in the national tournament, relied heavily on 6-3 center Amy Van Doesburg, and she didn't disappoint.

Van Doesburg finished with 20 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, nearly out-rebounding the entire Azusa Pacific team, which snagged 27 boards.

The Cougars hit just 19-of-34 free throws and a paltry 5-of-14 in the final 5:29. Candis Regan hit 1-of-2 for one of the game's 9 ties with 2:27 to play. Just 17 seconds later, Van Doesburg converted a lay-up to give the Mustangs a 69-67 lead they would not relinquish.

After a missed Lindsey West jumper, Grace Tappe sank a pair of free throws to push the lead up to 4 (71-67). West missed a pair of free throws, but then got a second chance after Marie Dyk grabbed the offensive rebound. This time West sank both free throws and then traded buckets with Tappe in a span of 11 seconds to make it 73-71 with 29 seconds left. Tappe hit a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left, and Dyk answered with a jumper with 16 seconds remaining. The Cougars couldn't foul again, and the Mustangs ran out the clock.

An entertaining game nonetheless, neither team was able to take control as they shared the lead 7 different times to go with the 9 ties. No lead grew larger than 7 points. The Cougars led 15-8 in the opening minutes before a 12-3 Mustang run gave them their first lead at 20-18 with 10:17 to play in the opening half.

The Mustangs then took a 50-43 lead on a pair of Van Doesburg free throws with 14:11 to play before the Cougars responded with a 17-9 run capped by a Jaclyn Rice trey with 7:44 to play to take a 60-59 lead. At that point, the lead changed hands 4 times with the final coming on Van Doesburg's lay-up.

Nicolette Dresback led Azusa Pacific with 20 points. West added 19 points and 6 rebounds. Tappe led all players with 23.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific drops to 20-11 and now must wait a week to find out its fate when the NAIA Tournament brackets are released Wednesday (March 10). The Master's improves to 20-12 and battles top-seed and third-ranked Vanguard in Saturday's semifinals.