Senior Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) recorded her sixth-straight double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Dixie State dropped an 87-61 decision at #24 Azusa Pacific Thursday night in Azusa, Calif.

The Storm (2-9/2-3 PacWest) never led in the contest as the hot-shooting Cougars (11-2/5-0 PacWest) opened the game with a 14-4 run en route to a 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. APU kept the momentum going in the second stanza, outscoring Dixie State 23-11 in the period to take a commanding 47-25 advantage into the halftime intermission. Azusa Pacific would push its lead to as many as 32 points late in the third period before settling for the final margin of victory.

Mann, who drew a lot of defensive attention throughout the contest, was held to just 8-of-17 from the floor, though she did manage to connect for 7-of-8 from the line to lead the Storm, while sophomore guard Sandria Bolden (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) chipped in seven points off the bench. DSU was held to 31.3 percent shooting from the field (21-of-67), which included a 2-of-21 clip (.095) from the perimeter. DSU was also done in by 24 turnovers, which led to 24 Cougar points.

Azusa Pacific shot 53 percent of its shots (35-of-66), led by Allison Greene who led four Cougars in double figures with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. The Cougars hit on 8-of-21 (.381) from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Storm 43-38.

Dixie State will look to bounce back this Saturday as the Storm takes on PacWest newcomer Concordia at 5:30 p.m. (PT), in Irvine, Calif.