SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- It was every bit as advertised with 18 lead changes and 11 ties, and fittingly, it came down to the last possession.

But unfortunately, for the NAIA’s No. 11-ranked Azusa Pacific, it couldn’t even get off a shot to either force overtime or get the win, and thus suffered a heartbreaking 80-78 loss at No. 3 The Master’s Saturday night in Santa Clarita.

The win is the Mustangs’ ninth in a row as they improve to 17-3 overall and assume sole possession of second place in the GSAC at 10-2. The Cougars fall to 18-6, 10-3 as their 5-game win streak is snapped.

Kelsey Hudson finished with a game- and career-high 30 points, but the Cougars narrowly missed out on their second road upset of a top 5 team in the past 2 weeks.

The Mustangs out-rebounded the Cougars 48-25, and the final board proved to be fatal as Amy VanDoesburg followed a Grace Tappe miss with a tip-in with 1:10 left to give the Mustangs an 80-76 lead.

Hudson buried jumper with 42 seconds left that brought the Cougars within 2 (80-78). The Cougars forced a turnover on the ensuing possession, and had a chance with 6 seconds left but could not get off a shot.

No lead swelled into double-digits, as both teams each held 7-point second half leads. The Cougars led 40-35 at halftime, and Lindsey West gave them a quick 42-35 lead with the opening bucket of the second half. But the Mustangs responded with a 22-8 jaunt to take a 57-50 lead with 11:29 to play.

West buried a jumper, and Sarah Leathers followed with a trey, and the Cougars were off a 16-2 run of their own capped by consecutive buckets by West and Leathers, the latter being another trey. In less than 4 minutes, the Cougars led 66-59 with 7:59 remaining and seemingly had control.

Kinsley Mittell led The Master’s with 26 points, scoring the final 5 of a 13-6 spurt that tied the game at 72-72 with 4:01 to play. The teams traded buckets on the next 4 possessions of the game, before Courtney Jackson hit a pair of free throws with 2:17 to play to give the Mustangs what turned out to be the lead for good.

Fifteen of the game’s 18 lead changes and 17 of Hudson’s 30 points came in the first 20 minutes. The Cougars scored the final 5 points of the half, the first 3 from a trey by Ashley Oakes and the final 2 by a pair of Hudson free throws, to carry a 40-35 lead into the locker room. That was the largest lead of the half by either team.

Monica Somers was the only other Cougar to reach double-figures as she finished with 13 points. Leathers hit 3 treys to finish with 9 points.

Van Doesburg finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson added 7 points and 11 rebounds, while Tiffany Webb, the GSAC’s second-leading scorer, was held to 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting.