BOX SCORE

FULLERTON, Calif. -  Point Loma Nazarene fell to NCAA DI Cal State Fullerton 86-60 Saturday afternoon in Titan Gym despite 17 points from junior Kaitlyn Trotter.

Lyndsey Grove scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Titans.

Grove hit on 7-of-15 from the floor and all four of her free throws to place the Titans, adding five rebounds and a trio of steals in 29 minutes. Megan Richardson (16 points), Ashley Richie (12 points), and Alex Thomas (10 points) also finished in double figures for Fullerton, which shot 47 percent from the field in the second half and 43 percent overall for the game.

Trotter finished with 17 points and five rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting to lead Point Loma. Brianna Colon added 11 points in the loss.

It was a back-and-forth contest out of the gate as neither team led by more than five points in the first nine minutes before a 13-6 run kickstarted by a three-pointer from Grove put the Titans up by 12 points with 4:35 left in the first half.

A basket by Callie Rhodes brought the Sea Lions' deficit back to single digits, but Fullerton closed strong, scoring the final 11 points of the period - including back-to-back three's from Lauren Chow and Thomas - to carry a 40-23 advantage into the locker room at the break.

Another three-pointer by Richardson started the second half for the Titans, who eventually led by as many as 28 points in the waning moments of regulation.

Fullerton outrebounded Point Loma, 46-34, for the game and turned 25 Sea Lion turnovers into 24 points.

"Fullerton has a very good team," said PLNU coach Bill Westphal. "They are going to have a great year and compete for the conference title. We will learn from this and can't wait to get back to practice."

The Sea Lions open the regular season next week at the MidAmerica Nazarene Tip-Off Classic in Olathe, KS.