COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Until today, no team in the history of GSAC women’s basketball has ever been ranked No. 1.

And if it weren’t for Azusa Pacific, Vanguard’s reign as the NAIA’s top-ranked team could’ve lasted longer than one week.

Nevertheless, Vanguard, which had won 16 straight coming into tonight’s game, squandered a 13-point lead late in the second half as the NAIA’s No. 12-ranked Cougars scored the game’s final 7 points, the final 2 coming on Lindsey West’s buzzer-beater, to complete a remarkable comeback and shock the Lions, 81-80, Tuesday night in Costa Mesa.

Azusa Pacific wins its third straight and improves to 16-5 overall, 8-2 GSAC. Meanwhile, the Lions fall to 18-2, 9-1.

“This was a great win and a great game by both teams,” said Azusa Pacific head coach Danelle Liles. “Vanguard is an excellent team. They shot the lights out in the second half, but we never gave up and battled the entire way.”

All the way to final buzzer to be exact.

After falling behind by 13 (71-58) with 7:49 to play, the Cougars ended the game with a 23-9 run. With Vanguard leading 80-79, Kelsey Hudson grabbed a missed jumper by Kelly Schmidt with 14 seconds left. The Cougars raced up the court and elected to not call a timeout.

Hudson, who got double-teamed on the block after receiving a pass from Ashley Oakes, found West at the free throw line. West caught the pass and promptly buried a jumper from the left elbow that bounced off the back of the rim, straight into the air and into the net as time expired sending the entire Cougar bench into a frenzy.

“It is unbelievable,” said West, who missed the last 2 games while resting a sore knee. “I had a feeling all day that we’d be able to get this win tonight. We all pulled together and played our best. As soon as it left my hands, I knew it was in.”

Lindsey Rice led the Cougars with 17 points as 5 Cougars scored in double-figures.

Lacey Burns gave the Lions a 79-72 lead with her third trey of the night with 2:47 to play. The Lions hit 12 treys on the night, including 8 in the second half, but they did not hit another field goal the rest of the game.

West hit a jumper with 1:44 to play to cut the deficit to 79-74. Lisa Faulkner, who finished with 14 points and 11 assists but had 6 turnovers, converted just 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead back up to 6 with 1:27 to go.

Eight seconds later, Hudson hit a jumper, and after Lacey Mills missed on a trey, Alyssa Ferdaszewski hit her third of the night to bring the Cougars with one (80-79) with 43 seconds to play setting up the frantic final seconds.

“Sure, there was extra motivation since they were the No. 1-ranked team, but our girls knew that we could play with them,” said Liles. “It was a collaborative effort by all the players, and a great team win.”

It was an entertaining game from the start. Vanguard took an early 19-16 lead when the Cougars scored 10 straight points capped by a West jumper to take a 26-19 lead with 7:52 to play in the first half. The Lions then answered with 9 straight points to re-take a 28-26 lead with 4:57 to play, but the Cougars ended the half with an 11-3 run to take a 37-31 lead into the locker room.

Seemingly stunned by a first-half performance in which they shot just 29.4% (10-for-34) in the first 20 minutes, the Lions stormed out of the locker room. They blitzed the Cougars with a 24-8 run in the first 6:40 of the second half to open up a 10-point (55-45) lead. The Cougars got within 7 before the Lions appeared to assume control with an 8-2 run to take its 13-point advantage on a jumper by Schmidt with 7:49 to go. The Cougars slowly chipped away, but were never able to get over the hump until West’s game-winner at the buzzer.

Sarah Leathers finished with 15 points and 3 assists. Ferdaszewski added 13 points (3 treys) and 4 assists. Hudson chipped in with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.