SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Point Loma faced off against the reigning CCAA Champions the Cal State East Bay Pioneers on Tuesday evening. Both teams came into the game with 2-0 records on the season. The Sea Lions struggled shooting out of the gate, the team shot 31.6% in the first quarter and found themselves down 17-13 early. PLNU was able to cut the lead to one before the half, trailing 31-30.
 
The team was still struggling to find a good offensive rhythm in the third quarter and allowed the Pioneers to grab a six-point lead, their largest of the game. The Sea Lions were able to come together in the fourth quarter and get stops on the defensive end that led to good looks for the offense. The team was able to stretch their three-point lead at the end of the third into a 19-point victory.
 
Roya Rustamzada led Point Loma with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her third straight double-double to start the season. Alex Brunk and Tayla Hepburn would each score 18 while also grabbing seven rebounds. Freshman Sydney Peterson broke out for 17 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (3-0), Cal State East Bay (2-1)
 
The Turning Point
After the Pioneers cut the fourth quarter lead to one point, the Sea Lions went on a 16-point run to take a 17-point lead and essentially seal the game.
 
Thoughts from Coach Faulkner
On the flow of the game: "I think we really battled, that we knew that if we stuck with the game plan that eventually we were going to break through. We did in that fourth quarter, we got some easy baskets in the paint with Tayla and Sydney, and Brunk hit a couple big 3's, that pulled us away a little bit. Sticking with the game plan was the biggest thing."
 
On her veterans: "Roya is a double-double machine. She was really feeling it that first half. It's just nice to have two veteran, senior players that have so much experience and have been to the NCAA tournament twice. They know how to make big plays down the stretch. To have them out there and mix them in with some young players, we are starting to see them gel together and hopefully we can continue to get better and better."
 
On Sydney's performance: "She is a scoring point guard. I've been getting on her to attack the paint more and go get some easy baskets. She really makes our offense go. It's fun for me to have a point guard, because I was a point guard, who I can mentor a little bit. To see her score 17 with five assists and three turnovers, it was a great game against a team that was very athletic and pressures a lot. She's going to continue to get better."
 
On the team making a late surge once again: "It comes down to getting stops on one end and coming down and making baskets on the other. I know that sounds very simple, but during the game it can be difficult. We were able to handle the boards, we got them out of sorts with some of our zone looks, turned them over on one end and capitalized on the other. That was the key to it, I am proud of this team and their effort and hopefully we can continue to get better."

News and Notes
> Roya Rustamzada started off the season with her third straight double-double, coming off a season where she ranked 17th nationally for total double-doubles.
> The Sea Lions starting lineup scored all but two of the team's points. 
> The Sea Lions are now 3-4 all-time against the Pioneers.
> The Pioneers got 32 points from their bench. 
> The Sea Lions outscored the Pioneers 36-10 in the paint. 
 
Up Next
The Sea Lions will play at home this Saturday as part of the Homecoming events. The team will host Montevallo at 6 p.m.