DOUGLAS — Two-and-a-half minutes away from perhaps the biggest win in the program’s history, the Cochise College women couldn’t clean up the defensive glass, and the Central Arizona College Vaqueras escaped the Stronghold with a 65-60 win.

“I’m proud we competed with the No. 4 team in the country, but we want to get to the point where we’re defeating those teams,” Cochise head coach Laura Hughes said. “It could have gone either way, but in the last two minutes we did not do what we needed to.”

Cochise led by four with 2:30 to play, but the Vaqueras pounded the offensive glass, and led by 6-foot-2 Joymesia Howard, who finished with 25 points, and Brea Edwards, who had 24, they tied the game with a minute to go, and pulled away in the final 60 seconds.

Johnishia Welles led Cochise with 12 points and C.C. Rode, Yvonte Neal and Jasmine Lemon each had nine for the Apaches, who dropped to 15-3 overall and now sit two games, plus the tiebreaker behind Central for first place in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference standings.

“We only shot four free-throws the whole game,” Hughes said. “It was very physical and there weren’t a lot of fouls called. We’ve got to learn to get through that, especially when we’re playing one of the top teams in the country.”

Cochise is on the road Wednesday, playing at Pima.

Cochise men

DOUGLAS — Central Arizona point guard DeAndre Mathieu scored 28 points and kept the Cochise College Apaches chasing all night long in an 85-76 win for the Vaqueros.

The loss drops Cochise out of a four-way tie for first place in the ACCAC, a group that includes Central.

“They did a good job of making plays and DeAndre Mathieu really made some plays at the end of the game,” Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo said. “We missed some critical shots in close and some free-throws.”

Joe Bell Austin had 22 points to lead Cochise, followed by Jordan Russell with 16 and Demeco Blue with 19.

Herve Aholde had 21 points and Desjuan Newton 20 for the Vaqueros, who had 20 offensive rebounds.

“It’s hard to beat a good opponent giving up that many second-chance shots,” Carrillo said.

Cochise, 8-2 in conference, is at Pima on Wednesday.

“It’s the last game of the first go-round,” Carrillo said. “It’s important we come to play on Wednesday night.”