SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma women's basketball team shook off all the rust that showed on Friday night to put forth a complete performance in the finale of the PacWest/CCAA Challenge to defeat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 75-58, on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Sea Lions are now 2-0 on the season as CSUDH drops to 0-2.
 
After trailing 5-4 early in the contest, PLNU went on a 13-4 run and never looked back. They built a 35-21 lead in the second quarter and that lead was never challenged by the Toros.  Point Loma pushed its lead to as many as 25 points in the second half and went on to the 17-point victory.
 
"It is nice to start 2-0 on our home court and get some of those cobwebs out," Point Loma head coach Lisa Faulkner explained. "It is different when the games count. It was very good to get both wins. I am very proud of our women and how well we played, and how we closed games."
 
Roya Rustamzada, who was named the MVP of the tournament, recorded her second straight double-double with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She was 7-of-9 from the field and also added four assists. Sydney Tonack joined Rustamzada on the all-tournament team after scoring 16 points and grabbing seven boards. She was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Madison West hit three 3-pointers en route to scoring 15 points. She is just 17 treys away from setting the school's career record. Kassidy Gengenbacher added 11 points, three assists and two steals.
 
The only student-athletes to reach double-figures for CSUDH came off the bench with 11 points apiece. Destinee Williams was 5-of-10 from the field and Simone Thompson hit 9-of-10 free throws to pace the Toros in scoring.
 
The biggest change between the Sea Lions' opener and today was their work on the glass. While PLNU lost the overall rebounding battle 48-41 they were not dominated on the glass like last night, and even outscored CSUDH on second chance points, 11-9.
 
"I would like to say it is coaching and a magic potion but I told them sometimes they have to get tough, get low and get nasty," said Faulkner. "We focused on that today and it was great to see those numbers be a ton better today.
 
"I preach to them continually that it is not about the other team, it is about us," Faulkner continued. "I got on them a little at halftime and they know we are playing for bigger things this year so it is important that we never let up energy-wise. We need to be sharp and run the things we run while being detail-oriented. That will be our message all year."
 
PLNU will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 14 when it hosts 2015-16 NCAA West Regional participant, Montana State Billings, at 7 p.m.
 
"We were able to keep minutes down a little today which was nice, but we will get back after it tomorrow and be ready for MSU Billings on Monday," Faulkner added.