BOX SCORE
SAN DIEGO - A last-second foul caused the Sea Lions a heartbreaking one-point loss to Concordia University on Thursday night in the Golden Gymnasium, 71-72.
The final minute of play was dramatic, to say the least. Two good free throw shots from
Abby Boorman put the Sea Lions ahead by two with 49 seconds left to play. However, the Eagles' unstoppable force, Nicole Fu, was able to drive one to the hole and even the score.
This would put the Sea Lions in the exact spot they wanted to be in: with possession of the ball and 15 seconds left on the clock. However, sometimes things don't always go as planned.
Kiley Berlinkski's three point attempt was blocked, deflected off her own hands, and on its way out of bounds when Boorman did the right thing, and attempted to stop it. She kept the ball in bounds, only to be stolen by Concordia's Tyler Howard.
With less than a second on the clock, Howard was fouled on her way to the basket and awarded two shots. When she missed the first, there seemed to still be hope for Point Loma. Howard's display of frustration at her failed free throw caused the Eagles to call timeout. After 30 seconds of suspense, Howard stepped up to the line with two seconds left on the clock and sank her second free throw, which would be just enough to earn a “W” and send Concordia back to Irvine with smiles on their faces.
Boorman was huge for the Sea Lions, with 19 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks, and three assists. Crissa Jackson and Brianna Colon each recorded 13 points and combined for 11 rebounds. Berlinski also pulled down six boards out of the team's 37.
Concordia recorded two fewer rebounds but literally just made one more free throw than the Sea Lions. Fu was Point Loma's biggest problem of the night, with 25 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Karen Carney added22 points and eight boards.
The Sea Lions shot five percent better than the Eagles from the field and almost 30 percent better at the stripe. However, as mentioned earlier, Concordia still made just one more free throw than Point Loma.
The Eagles are now 7-6 in GSAC (12-7 overall) while the Sea Lions drop to 4-9 in conference (9-12 overall).
PLNU's next match-up will be at No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Feb 5 at 5:30 pm.
