HONOLULU - The Point Loma women's basketball team outscored Chaminade by nine points in the fourth quarter to earn a 67-63 comeback victory and clinch the final spot in the PacWest Championships (Feb. 27).
 
PLNU completes the regular season at 19-9 and in sixth place in the PacWest with a 12-8 record. The Sea Lions will be the No. 6 seed at the PacWest Championships next week in Irvine, Calif. (Mar. 3-5). Point Loma will face No. 3 seeded Academy of Art in the first round on Thursday, Mar. 3 at 2:45 p.m. This was also the 597th victory in coach Bill Westphal's career. Chaminade ends its season at 5-19 and 5-15 in the PacWest.
 
Point Loma trailed 52-45 early in the fourth quarter but used a 7-0 spurt to tie the contest. The Sea Lions and Silverswords would then trade baskets before PLNU went on a 9-0 run from the 3:17 mark until the 00:09 mark to win the game. Point Loma shot 8-of-15 from the field in the final stanza.
 
"Wins like these develop character," said Point Loma assistant coach Dwayne Cosby. "In our film session today I kept reiterating this team record doesn't reflect how well they shoot and how hard they play. Factor that in with the fact it was Senior Night we had a very emotional and motivated, Chaminade team to contest with."
 
Sydney Tonack scored 20 points, pulled down six rebounds and had two blocks to lead the Sea Lions. The junior forward shot 9-of-15 from the field. She was one point short of her season-high. Alex Brunk just missed her 11th double-double of the season as she registered 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
Lilia Maio had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Silverswords.
 
The Sea Lions had just six turnovers to match its lowest single-game total in the last 10 years. PLNU also won the battle on the boards 37-33 and made more free throws (10) than CUH attempted (six).
 
"It was an inconsistent game," Cosby added. "We missed at least five layups and they made five 3's in the second half. Later we identified some areas we could attack and it was effective. It was a total team effort in the second half.
 
"This team can turn your hair grey at times but they never wavered or panicked as seen earlier in the first Cal State Dominguez game," Cosby continued. "If we play defense, rebound and have great shot selection we can beat anyone!"
 
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