Box Score SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A nip-and-tuck contest came down a shot from the charity in the closing seconds.
Alexcia Mark hit the second of her two free throw attempts with four seconds left to break to the tie and give Cal State San Bernardino a 61-60 win.
Each team held a lead as large as six points in a game that saw nine ties and seven lead changes. One of the deciding factors in the game was San Bernardino's ability to convert turnovers into points. The Coyotes forced Azusa Pacific (4-2) into a season high 21 miscues which they turned into 24 points. Conversely, the Cougars scored 10 points off of 13 San Bernardino turnovers.
On the foul line Azusa Pacific shot a season low 47.1 percent from the charity stripe as they hit eight of their 17 attempts. While the Coyotes didn't shoot much better as they converted on 58.3 percent (7-for-12) but they were a bit more opportunistic for the foul line.
The Cougars conclude the UC San Diego Thanksgiving Classic with a 3:00 p.m. Saturday game against the host Tritons.
"In many regards I felt like we controlled the game. We did a lot of things well and I was especially pleased with our rebounding," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "Against a good team like that you can't turn the ball over that much and miss free throws like we did and expect to win."
Azusa Pacific held their largest lead of the game early in the contest after a Kelly Hardeman jumper with 13:03 left in the frame gave her team a 14-8 edge. The Cougars never trailed the rest of the half but the Coyotes stayed with striking distance of the lead. San Bernardino (3-0) tied the score at 26-26 with just under three minutes left until the halftime horn.
Buckets by Lauren Gilster and Hardeman grew the Cougars lead back to four points but the San Bernardino scored the final four points of the half as they teams went into the locker room knotted at 3-30-30.
After trading the first several points of the second half, the Coyotes went on a six-point scoring spurt to take their largest lead of the contest. The 6-0 scoring run was capped off by a Chelsea Austin three-pointer with 14:28 remaining as they took a 42-36 advantages. Azusa Pacific dwindled away at their deficit and retook the lead when Maggie Dumphy hit a lay-up with 6:06 remaining to give the squad a 53-52 edge.
The team continued to trade points in the closing minutes. Azusa Pacific scored their final point when Hardeman hit the second of two foul shots with 2:13 left to tie the contest at 60-60. Down the stretch the teams combined to miss eight field goal attempts as the teams jostled for the lead.
After Mack hit her foul shot with four ticks remaining, the Cougars got off a final shot but Katie Powell's jumper as time expired didn't connect.
Hardeman, who came into the game as the nation's second leading scorer with 116 points, posted her fourth double-double of the season with a 26-point, 12-rebound 11 effort. Miriam Zabinsky recorded her first double-double of the year by scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
The win for the Coyotes broke a three-game losing streak against Azusa Pacific. Austin and Brianna Harden each scored a team high 13 points to pace the San Bernardino effort. Harden tallied a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds.
