The No. 4-ranked Sea Lions shot over the 50 percent mark again Saturday afternoon for a 75-50 victory over Fresno Pacific. After upsetting the No. 2 team in the nation, Vangurd, Tuesday, the Sea Lions remain undefeated and upped their conference record to 2-0 (6-0 overall).
The Sunbirds are 0-2 in GSAC play and 1-8 overall.
PLNU shot .523 percent, grabbed 31 boards, caused 17 turnovers and had nine steals. FPU shot .351 percent, had 27 rebounds, caused 20 turnovers and had three steals.
The Sea Lions built their lead early, racing out of a 12-12 tie with 10 consecutive points. The Sunbirds had only reduced the PLNU lead by one point at half time, as green and gold made its way into the locker room up 35-26.
A 12-point run in the second half boosted the Sea Lions into a 63-35 lead before finishing ahead of the Sunbirds by 25 points.
Heavy coverage of Sea Lions star forward Colleen Planeta has created new offensive opportunities. Liah Ector led the team with 19 points, including 11 from free throws, and nine rebounds.
Amanda Franz, who led PLNU with 23 points Tuesday, scored 14 Saturday. Fouls plagued the Sunbirds as seven of her points were from the stripe. Despite receiving a lot of defensive attention, Planeta managed 15 points.
Jessica Torrecillas scored 11 and was the only FPU player to break into double digits. Patrice Saindon was useful on offense with six assists.
The Sea Lions travel to La Mirada, Calif., to take on No. 25-ranked Biola University for their next game Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
-Nathan Scharn
