AZUSA, Calif. -- Tonight Azusa Pacific struggled on offense but, unlike other games this season, it could not overcome a volume of missed shots.
The end result was a disappointing loss that temporarily puts the Cougars 4 games behind GSAC leader Vanguard with 7 to play.
With Azusa Pacific (17-6, 9-4) trailing 79-75 with under 10 seconds left in the game, Cougar point guard Sarah Leathers was fouled on a 3-point attempt and went to the line with a chance to slice the Mustangs lead to a single point.
Unfortunately for Leathers and the Cougars she made only 1 leaving the deficit at 3 with 5 seconds remaining on the clock. The Cougars were forced to foul and, when they did, the Mustangs' Stacy Nanninga calmly stepped to the line and sank both of her free throws.
Thus, in what had been a close game throughout, the NAIA's No. 12-ranked The Master's (16-5, 8-4) escaped the Felix Event Center the victor knocking off No. 7 Azusa Pacific, 81-76.
Kinsley Mittel led the Mustangs with 18 points while Kelsey Shugert added 15 points and 5 rebounds in the win.
The Cougars were paced by another monster game from Lindsey West who scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in her fifth double in her past 6 games.
When Azusa Pacific looks back at losing this game at home 2 numbers on the stat sheet will stand out. The Cougars missed 13 free throw attempts and also misfired on 19 3-point attempts.
Neither team took a double digit lead and the contest was tied on 7 different occasions. The final time at 71-71 with just over 3 minutes to play. Angela Gimeno made a lay-up and, after Leathers missed a triple, Kelsey Shugert made a short jumper in the key to put The Master's up, 75-71.
Leathers quickly took the inbounds pass and sprinted up the court and drew the foul. She promptly sank both free throws to cut the deficit to just 2. However, after Jennifer Ayers-Stamper missed a jumper an Ashley Oakes turnover forced the Cougars to foul and Grace Tappe made both from the charity stripe setting up the final sequence.
Leathers finished the game with 20 points and 4 steals. Monica Somers added 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
The next stop for Azusa Pacific is Hope International where the Cougars have had a lot of success against the Royals. The first time the teams met the Cougars prevailed 86-73 at home back in early January and can't afford to stumble against a much improved Hope team. Azusa Pacific is 6-1 all-time on the road against the Royals.
