The Sea Lions got out to a hot start and never looked back as they won their fifth-straight game, 64-52, over the Concordia Irvine Eagles. Point Loma took a 7-0 lead to start the first quarter, and held the Eagles to just seven first quarter points, holding a 15-point lead at the end of the quarter. Concordia found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter but would never recover from the early deficit.
The Point Loma defense held the Eagles to 29.7 percent shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Sea Lions. Concordia was able to cut the lead to as few as six points in the second half, but with each run they made, PLNU was able to find an answer to keep momentum in their favor. They were able to close out the game making their free throws to secure the win.
Sydney Peterson led all scorers with 20 points as well as six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Cara Liggins secured her eight double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Grace Brady had another solid defensive effort with five blocks, eight defensive rebounds, while also scoring eight points.
Team Records PLNU (11-10, 10-5 PacWest), CUI (7-12, 6-8 PacWest) PacWest Implications Point Loma moves to 10-5 in PacWest play to better solidify their position for the PacWest tournament seeding. They still sit in fifth place, with FPU currently holding the tiebreaker over them. With Biola still ineligible for postseason play, Concordia currently looks to secure the sixth seed.
Faulkner’s Thoughts On the dominating first quarter: “We had a great first quarter, defensively and offensively we were on attack. We had a week of practice to prep that really helped us in the first quarter and we got them back on their heels. We got a lead, I was hoping we could keep it growing, but they did a good job getting back into their game and their flow. It was back and forth after the first but getting that 15-point lead ultimately got us the win.” On Peterson bouncing back to lead the scoring effort: “She was in her head a little bit with missing shots. We have been trying to tell her to let the offense come to you.
Shooters sometimes have a streak where they miss some shots but the percentages always equal out. She has been doing all the right things, her growth is huge for us. She played well here again and made some big shots down the stretch to stop their runs. I have a ton of confidence in her and I think she is going to continue to get better and better.” On their big advantage in fast break points: “We are a good transition team and our defense fuels our offense. When we were getting stops and doing the right things defensively we were able to get out in transition.
Converting those opportunities is huge, the difference between good teams and great teams is their ability to convert those opportunities into points. That was nice to see tonight.” On continuing their momentum heading into the last road trip of the season: “This is a huge win to start our last three regular season road games. We want to go up to the Bay Area and keep this momentum going. I think we are playing good basketball right now and we have talked about being more consistent anb playing 40 minutes. I thought we had some lapses today and it will be a good test for us next week. Nothing is easy, we are going to keep getting better in practice, hopefully we get two wins next week and then we get some home games.”
News and Notes
• All but two of the Sea Lions points came from the starters.
• Point Loma held the Eagles’ leading scorer, Michaela Vanderklugt, to just seven points, well below her season average of 19.6.
• Over her last seven games, Grace Brady is averaging five blocks per game.
• Liggins was one point shy of recording three-straight 20-point games.
• The Sea Lions have not lost in Irvine since the 2003-04 season when both teams were still in the NAIA.
Up Next The Sea Lions make the trip to the Bay Area next weekend to face Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names. They will face NDNU on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 5:30 p.m.
