LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The faithful at Chase Gym witnessed a thrilling conclusion to the women's basketball portion of the Cornerstone Cup. A scrappy back-and-forth game down the final straightaway had the Eagles up by one with 13.3 seconds left. But Cougar guard Zoe March created two baskets in the closing moments to give No. 18 APU a 68-65 victory.

The loss sours a great comeback from Biola that erased a 10-point lead for APU at the start of the fourth quarter. The Eagles are now 10-10 and 7-7 in the PacWest. Azusa Pacific holds its ground as the conference's second-place team with a record of 22-3, 13-2 PWC.

There was the sense that the game was going to go down to the wire from the very beginning. Each team limited its opponent to five field goals during the first 10 minutes and Biola was able to grab a slim three-point lead headed into the second quarter because of a 9-0 run from Biola.

A Brenna Khaw jumper would extend the lead to five points before the game fell right back into trading baskets. The Eagles were able to keep within three points of the Cougars at halftime, but they committed a game-high seven turnovers in the second quarter that gave APU additional chances to pull ahead.

The Cougars did just that in the third quarter, creating the first double-digit lead of the game at 46-36 with 2:48 left in the period. Forward Casey Wortley scored eight of her 11 points in the third period while Azusa Pacific limited Biola to 25 percent shooting and one made three-pointer over the same span.

But boy, did the Eagles come alive in the fourth. Head Coach Alan Nakamura's team cut its 10-point deficit to three in a stretch of 2:38 and made seven of its nine shot attempts in the fourth to put Azusa Pacific on the verge of defeat.

The Eagles pushed pass the Cougars for the first time since 26-25 when Jazz Benn sank her second three-pointer of the period to make it a 56-55 game in favor of the home team. Then Danielle Kennedy and Sara Dougan buried threes of their own on consecutive field-goal attempts for the Eagles to tie the game and then take the lead.

The junior guard Kennedy played the roll of clutch shooter fantastically on Saturday night for the Eagles. She tied her season-high with 13 points and went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. All four of Kennedy's makes either tied the game or gave the Eagles the lead.

After Dougan's make made the score 63-62, APU immediately responded with a layup at the 25-second mark from Gabrielle Keiser. That set the stage for DeMoria White to take the ball on Biola's last possession and create the Eagles' best chance. White was fouled while driving down the left side of the lane with about 15 seconds to go and sank two huge free throws to set the stage for a Biola win that was not to be after Marsh pulled the rug from under the Eagles' feet.

Not to be lost in the final result is the fact that White became the ninth player with 1,500 career points in program history on Saturday. She reached that milestone with a three-pointer in the second quarter and now has a total of 1,507.

The Eagles will return to Chase Gym on Monday for a rematch with the Holy Names Hawks at 5:30 p.m. Biola defeated Holy Names by a score of 67-48 on Jan. 25.