ST. GEORGE, Utah - Madison West broke the Point Loma women's basketball record for career 3-pointers to help propel the Sea Lions to an 83-62 road victory over Dixie State on Monday, Dec. 19.
 
The win allows PLNU to improve to 9-2 on the season and to 4-1 in the PacWest. It also drops Dixie State to 0-11 and 0-5 in the PacWest.
 
West came into the contest tied with Christy Stevens (1990-94) for the PLNU career record with 198 3-pointers. West knocked down three treys in the game to take sole possession of the record and become the first Sea Lion ever make 200-plus 3-pointers in her career. The record breaker came early in the first quarter on a steal and assist by Roya Rustamzada.
 
"Madi has been a huge part of the program the past four years, and I am super happy for her to get this record," said Point Loma head coach Lisa Faulkner. "I know she would want to thank her teammates for all the assists. She has been one of the best shooters in the PacWest through the years and hopefully she will continue to keep knocking down shots for us."
 
Tonight West had 13 points, with those three 3-pointers, and added four assists. She was one of four Sea Lions to hit double-digits in the scoring column. Roya Rustamzada lead all student-athletes in scoring with 20 points on 7of-12 shooting. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Sydney Tonack chipped in with 10 points. Kassidy Gengenbacher came off the bench to hit 7-of-11 shots for 18 points and also had four steals as the Sea Lions forced the Trailblazers into 24 turnovers.
 
"We are still getting better defensively but we are going into break about where we need to be," said Faulkner. "Hopefully at the end of the season we are where we need to be to close out tight games against disciplined teams.
 
"Kassidy filled the role off the bench really well; she is basically a sixth starter for us," said Faulkner. "She can score off the dribble or knock down the '3,' and she brings energy every game. She is one of our most consistent players and I have a lot of trust in her game."
 
In the first quarter the Sea Lions struggled to find footing offensively before Gengenbacher entered the game and knocked down a 3-pointer. She added 10 more points in the second quarter and finished with 13 in the half. That helped PLNU overcome a 10-point deficit and tie the game at 34-34 at the half. In the third quarter, the Sea Lions went on a 21-3 run and it was all over from there. PLNU limited DSU to just 10 points in a 14-minute stretch to secure their victory.
 
 "The message from day 1 has been to get better every day," said Faulkner. "Doing that but we have not come close to playing a full 40-minute game. It is good and bad because it means we have room to improve, and hopefully peak in March."
 
Tramina Jordan led Dixie State with 18 points. Ali Franks had 15 points, with 10 of those come from the charity stripe.
 
The Sea Lions will be off until Dec. 29 when they host San Diego Christian at 5:30 p.m.