“It's a huge win for us,” said PLNU senior Colleen Planeta. “They are a great team and match up well with us. To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

Both teams struggled with shooting accuracy. The Sea Lions shot 39 percent, barely besting Azusa Pacific's 34.5 percent. In the first half, the teams had only one three-pointer between them on 10 attempts. PLNU had 17 steals and five blocks in the game. 

After pacing each other for the first six points from each team, the Sea Lions built a steady lead over the Cougars. PLNU was up by as much as eight in the final two minutes of the half, but APU tightened the home team's lead to three points to go into the half down 24-21.

The Cougars gave the Sea Lions a wakeup call in the second half, catching up for a 24-24 tie 1:20 into the half. PLNU answered with six unanswered points, and built the lead to as much as 13 before the 11-point victory.

“We didn't have our best game,” said Planeta whose team made just 7-19 free throws, but scored 28 points off of 29 APU turnovers. “I think the biggest difference tonight was our energy on defense. When we weren't doing well on offense, we picked it up on defense.” 

Planeta led the Sea Lions with 21 points to go with four blocks and three steals. Amanda Franz followed with 16 points. Liah Ector had six steals, six points and five assists. PJ Hanson added eight points and a team-high nine boards. Kaitlyn Trotter contributed five points and four rebounds. 

For the Cougars, Alex Moore-Porter led the offense with 18 points followed by Amber Williams with 10.  Michelle Byrd pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds with Williams grabbing nine boards.

The Sea Lions travel to Irvine Tuesday to take on Concordia University at 5:30 p.m.

-Nathan Scharn