ST. GEORGE, Utah - Jessica Escorza reached 1,000-point plateau and the Point Loma women's basketball team avenged an early season loss to Dixie State by ruining Senior Night for the Red Storm with a 81-59 win on the road (Feb. 28).
 
The Sea Lions, which have already wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Pacific West Conference Championships next week in Irvine, Calif., finish the regular season with an 18-10 record (15-5 PacWest), and having won nine of their last 10, and 14 of their last 16 games. Dixie State finishes the season at 8-18 and 10th in the PacWest standings (7-13).
 
Roya Rustamzada continued to make her case for PacWest Freshman of the Year honors by leading four Sea Lions in double-figures with a career-high 21 points. She was 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 at the free line. She also had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Escorza scored 14 points, went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds and dished out six assists on her way to reaching the Sea Lion record books. She needed just 73 games over three years to reach the 1,000-point club. She now sits at 1,013 points in her career.  She finished the regular season sixth in the PacWest in scoring with 15.3 points per game. PLNU also got 12 points from Madison West and 10 from Riley Abraham. Both ladies went 5-of-8 from the field.
 
The Sea Lions held the Red Storm to 37 percent shooting in the game, and just 3-of-20 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, PLNUU shot 47 percent from the field and 17-of-18 from the free throw line. The Sea Lions jumped out to a 48-29 lead at the half and that lead never dropped below 12 points as PLNU avenged a 71-67 loss to Dixie State in its PacWest season on Dec. 4. 
 
"Defense was the key today," said senior forward Jessica Escorza. "We focused on playing as a team and rebounding. They (Dixie State) have a big presence inside and their guards can score, so we had to have a team effort.
 
"If you compare us to how we played early in the year the difference is night and day," she continued. "We are focused on playing as a team. Everyone wants to win. We are very focused in our preparation, on and off the court. We have really matured and when we play like this it is a sign of that maturity."
 
Point Loma will face No. 6 seed BYU-Hawaii in the first round of the PacWest Championships on Thursday, Mar. 5 at 11:30 a.m.