[Box score]

SAN DIEGO – Jessica Escorza scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Point Loma women's basketball team to a 79-69 win over Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 23.

The win was the Sea Lions' 10th in Pacific West Conference play. PLNU is now 14-11 on the season and seventh among 14 teams in the PacWest standings with a 10-7 record. PLNU has won nine of its last 11 games. The loss was the fifth straight for the Sunbirds who dropped to 4-19 on the season (4-12 PacWest).

Escorza hit 9-of14 shots from the field and 14-of-16 from the charity stripe to record the highest scoring output for any Sea Lion this season. Escorza's 32 points eclipsed Carlotta Kloppenburg's 27-point effort against Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 18. She scored 18 of her 32 points after halftime to help PLNU avoid the upset.

The Sea Lions were up three points at the break (32-29) but that would be a short lived lead as FPU fought back to take a five-point lead mid-way through the second period. Escorza would then lead PLNU on a 19-3 run to seal the game. Escorza scored 10 points and Abby Boorman added six as the Sea Lions outscored the Sunbirds by 16 points over a critical six minute stretch. PLNU shot 56 percent in the second half after shooting just 34 percent in the first half.

Keairra White led Fresno Pacific with 25 points and eight rebounds. However, she required 26 shots to get those 25 points (8-of-26).

Point Loma also got double-digit scoring efforts from Callie Rhoads and Savannah Erskine with 14 and 16 points, respectively. Kloppenburg matched a season-high with nine rebounds and Erskine added five assists.

PLNU outscored FPU 38-14 on points in the paint and outrebounded the Sunbirds 25-13.

The Sea Lions will now prepare to host Dixie State on Mar. 2 in the regular season finale for both teams. It will also be Senior Night for PLNU seniors Renee Crawford and Andre Campbell.