After falling three spots in the NAIA national ratings Tuesday the No. 8-ranked Sea Lions ended the week with another victory, defeating Westmont 88-76. PLNU improved to 24-3 overall and 15-3 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
“It's great to get a road win,” said Point Loma Coach Bill Westphal. “They are hard to find in the GSAC. It's been a long season. I am very proud of the girls, they show up and play hard game after game.”
The Warriors fell to 15-10 all season and 8-9 in conference.
The Sea Lions are third in the GSAC standings, behind Azusa Pacific and Vanguard and ahead of Biola University – the three teams PLNU split with this season. The Sea Lions have two games before they will appear in the GSAC playoffs.
“If we keep coming out and playing with the intensity like we did at Westmont we have a really good shot in playoffs,” said junior guard Amanda Franz.
The Sea Lions shot 54.5 percent (31-57) to shut down the Warriors, who shot 38.1 percent (24-63).
PLNU started out strong, garnering a 15 point lead in the first 10 minutes, but the Warriors didn't give up early, and closed the gap to seven before going into the half down by 10.
“We started off with a lot of intensity and energy and had a great start to the game,” said Franz. “Our defense was very good.”
After a three pointer from PLNU sophomore Brianna Colon in the first minutes of the second, the Warriors had an eight point run to close the Sea Lions' lead to three. But a five consecutive point answer put pushed PLNU toward the double digit lead it would hold for most of the half, eventually finishing ahead by 12.
Junior guard Liah Ector led the charge for PLNU with 25 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
“Liah had no fear out there,” said Franz. “She attacked the basket incredibly well and got free throws and crazy rebounds. She broke the other team's defense down and created a lot of opportunities for our guards.”
The Warriors defense was unable to stop senior forward Colleen Planeta, who had 24 points, and Franz, who had 19. Other contributors were Colon with nine points and PJ Hanson with nine boards and seven points.
“We have a lot still ahead of us,” said Westphal. “It's nice to have Liah and Colleen leading our team.”
Three WC players shot double digits, as well. Senior guard Jessica Case led the court with 28, followed by senior guard Alisha Heglund with 18 and freshman guard Vanessa Farias with 12.
The Sea Lions face Cal Baptist in their final away game of the regular season Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PLNU defeated the Lancers by 35 points the last time the teams met.
-Nathan Scharn
