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SAN DIEGO – Behind 24 points and 9 rebounds from Nyla Bailey, Point Loma Nazarene defeated NCAA DIII seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point 74-66 Wednesday evening in the first game of the Surf N Slam Small College Basketball Tournament held in Golden Gym.



Loma's most impressive win of the year comes after a 20-day layoff for the Sea Lions which improved to 8-4. The Pointers (10-1) suffered their first loss of the year.

PLNU jumped out to a 6-0 lead Wednesday before back-to-back 3-pointers from Cassie Bandow and Tyler Myranda evened the score at 6-6. The two teams traded buckets before a Sam Barber trey put the Pointers up 13-12.

UWSP would hold the lead throughout the half and went ahead by as many as 12 points. The Sea Lions sliced the deficit to just four at the break though after a 7-0 run that was capped off by a Crissa Jackson layup.

Bailey dropped in two buckets to start the second stanza and pull PLNU even with the Pointers, 33-all. The junior forward would score Loma's first eight points of the half and 20 of her 24 points came during the period.

The two teams slugged it out for the next ten minutes, tying six times and trading five leads until a pair of Bailey free throws put the Sea Lions up for good at 8:35. Whether it was from the floor or at the line, Bailey continued to score seemingly at will for the rest of the half.

The Pointers closed the gap to five points at 2:23 but were forced to foul in order to get the ball back in their possession with enough time on the clock. The strategy failed, however, after PLNU made 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Jackson scored 21 points, going 10-for-10 at the stripe, all of those in the final two minutes of play. Jackson also had 9 rebounds and added 4 assists and 2 steals to an impressive statline. Brianna Colon contributed 10 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Andrea Campbell had 7 boards, 5 points and 3 blocks.  Abby Boorman added 6 points and 2 blocks to the win.

Leading the Pointers was Alyssa Opp with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Myranda had 11 points with three UWSP players scoring 8 points in the loss.

The Sea Lions take a day off before hosting Wellesley (Mass.) in the third and final game of the Surf N Slam Tournament on Friday. The second game of the tournament is on Thursday when Stevens Point meets up with Wellesley. Both contests start at 5:30 pm.