OAKLAND - Jessica Escorza scored 16 points, Roya Rustamzada added 12 and Riley Abraham chipped in with 10, as the Point Loma women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 67-49 win at Holy Names on Thursday (Jan. 29).
 
The Sea Lions (10-9, 8-4 PacWest) have won six of their last seven games, and currently sit in fourth place in the Pacific West Conference standings. This was the 12th straight loss for the Hawks, which fell to 2-18 on the season, and to 1-11 in the PacWest.
 
The forward trio of Abraham, Escorza and Rustamzada combined to shoot 19-of-31 from the field with 12 rebounds and five steals to drive the Sea Lions to the road win. The trio also helped PLNU dominate inside the paint, outscoring the Hawks 44-14 and 18-5 on second chance points.
 
The Sea Lions also received a huge boost from its bench which outscored Holy Names' 24-0. Abraham's 10 points led the way but Alex Brunk also chipped in with eight and Paola Roa with four. Starting guard Anna Viettry had five assists and just one turnover.
 
"Holy Names has good talent and played hard throughout the game," said the sophomore point guard Anna Viettry."I love my team on and off the court. We believe in each other."
 
Isabelle Ayad paced the Hawks with 19 points. She went 6-of-11 from the field, including hitting five 3-pointers. Garysha Youngblood added 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
 
PLNU scored the first five points of the game and built its lead to 13 points in the first half (30-17). The Sea Lions led 30-21 at the half and by as many as 20 in the second half before settling on the 18-point margin of victory (67-49). HNU would get within six points during the second half but PLNU quickly answered with a 9-0 run to squelch the threat.
 
"I'm excited about our team for the push to the end (and in seasons to come)," Viettry continued. "Our aggression on defense and on the boards got our energy going. We'll get prepared and get ready for another challenging game on Saturday."
  
Point Loma will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Notre Dame de Namur. The game will tipoff at 1:00 p.m.