IRVINE, Calif. - The Point Loma women's basketball team was edged 73-71 by California Baptist in the semifinals of the PacWest Championships on Friday, Mar. 5.
 
The Sea Lions (19-11) built a 41-31 lead at the half, but CBU (23-5) came out of the locker room and went on a 17-2 run to take the lead. PLNU fought their way back to tie it at 69-69 on a pair of free throws with 2:40 remaining. The teams then traded baskets until it was tied at 71-71 with less than 30 seconds left.
 
On its possession, CBU then worked the ball around and found Darsha Burnside open for a layup to put the Lancers up 73-71 with 11 seconds left. Point Loma went to their senior Jessica Escorza on the final play. She drove the lane and went to her left hand but Burnside got a hand on her layup attempt and blocked it out of bounds as time expired.
 
"We haven't had a close game in about a month," said PLNU head coach Bill Westphal. "We haven't been in the situation where each possession can win or lose it. We weren't as prepared as we should have been for a close game."
 
"That is an opportunity every player looks to have," said Escorza about taking the final shot. "I've worked to get that shot since I arrived at PLNU but Burnside got the block. She is a great player.
 
"We wanted to get a layup or kick it out for a 3," Escorza continued. "The drive happened and it got blocked. You wish you could go back and do it again, but I couldn't have asked for the team to battle harder tonight."
 
Burnside was dominant force all afternoon for the Lancers, falling just a block short of a triple-double. She registered 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting and also grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with nine blocks. Cassidy Mihalko scored a game-high 29 points. She went 7-of-11 from 3-point range and 8-of-8 at the line.
 
Jessica Escorza posted 23 points to lead the Sea Lions. Roya Rustamzada scored all 10 of her points during a 10-4 PLNU run midway in the second half. She also had eight rebounds and a career-high five blocks. Madison West added 15 points and matched a career-best with eight rebounds.  Amy Ogren came off the bench to match her career-high with 11 points.
 
It really was a tale of two halves for the Sea Lions. During the first half they shot 41 percent, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, but in the second half they went cold. PLNU shot just 24 percent from the field and were outrebounded 27-18 in the final 20 minutes.
 
PLNU, which entered the week as the No. 8 seed in the West Region, will now await their fate on Sunday night when the NCAA announces the eight-team West Regional.