BOX SCORE
AZUSA, Calif. -- Point Loma Nazarene looked to be on the verge of an upset in the Felix Events Center Wednesday night. But No. 3-ranked Azusa Pacific outscored the Sea Lions by 30 points in the second half of their GSAC playoff game and handed PLNU an 88-68 loss.
Despite being up by as much as 13 and leading by ten points at the break, Point Loma fell flat during the final stretch, scoring only 22 points during the entire second half.
The Sea Lions didn't surrender the lead one time during the first twenty minutes of play. Nine minutes after tip-off, the Cougars had just ten points to Loma's 23—making the outcome look more favorable for the Sea Lions.
APU was able to inch their way back in, coming within two points at the six-minute-mark. However, the combination of good shooting and good rebounding by PLNU allowed them to fight off the Cougars and leave the court with a ten point lead.
Those ten points began slipping from the Sea Lions very quickly into the second stanza. By four minutes of play, the score was tied at 50-all. From there APU would take their first lead of the night, and the Sea Lions would never see it again.
With six minutes left, the Cougars took off on a scoring spree, leaving PLNU stuck in a 64-point rut, unable to score past it for three minutes, and ultimately only being able to add four for their final score.
"We played great in the first half," said Point Loma coach Bill Westphal. "But we got tired in the second half and their pressure really got to us. Still, we had some outstanding performances. Abby Boorman showed that she is a player and both Brianna Colon and Crissa Jackson continue to carry us."
In the entire second half, the Sea Lions only scored 22 points to APU's 52. Surprisingly, the Cougars only outshot Loma by .2 percent, 52.1 percent to 51.9 percent from the field. Behind the stripe APU shot 66.7 percent to PLNU's 45.5 percent.
A big advantage for the Cougars was also their 34 rebounds to the Sea Lions' 29, along with their low eight turnovers compared to Point Loma's 19. APU turned those 19 turnovers into 29 points.
Crissa Jackson scored 21 points with seven assists and four rebounds, while Kiley Berlinski had 17 points, closely followed by Brianna Colon's 16. Abby Boorman had ten rebounds.
For the Cougars, Alex Moore-Porter was big with a double-double, 23 points and 13 rebounds. Eboni Sadler had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Michelle Byrd and Briana Hall combined for 29 points, with Hall contributing 11 assists.
The Sea Lions end their season with a 13-16 overall record. The Cougars improved to 27-3 and will host the GSAC semifinals and finals starting on Friday.
"This offseason we need to get people healthy," said Westphal, whose team will be missing a berth to the national tournament for the first time in nine years. "I am looking forward to seeing what we will do next year."
