RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Sea Lions went on the road to face a California Baptist team who bested them on four separate occasions last season. The teams who faced off today both looked much different from those teams who played a season ago, but Point Loma was determined to come away with a victory. The team struggled to get their offense going in the first quarter, finding themselves down eight points early.

Going into halftime the Sea Lions were down 40-35, shooting only 32 percent from the field through the first half. Point Loma fought their way back into the game after halftime tying the game at 42 on an offensive rebound and a layup from Cara Liggins. By the end of the third quarter, PLNU had secured their lead at 62-60. The Sea Lions would keep the lead throughout the fourth quarter pushing their lead to as much as eight points. Late free throws from Sydney Peterson and Tayla Hepburn would help seal the game for Point Loma to earn them their first conference win of the season.

Roya Rustamzada earned her sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Hepburn led the Sea Lions in scoring with 25 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. Liggins, Peterson and Stephanie Williams would each score in double digits as well, the starters accounted for all but two of the PLNU points scored. Freshman center, Grace Brady scored the other two points for Point Loma and had four blocks on the night in only nine minutes of action.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (6-3, 1-1), California Baptist (4-5, 1-1)
 
PacWest Implications
The Sea Lions are now 1-1 in conference play early in the season, while the PacWest leaders are 3-0. The Lancers are also 1-1 in conference after a win over Chaminade last week.
 
The Turning Point
PLNU used an 11-5 run to take their first lead of the game at 46-45 in the third quarter. The teams would trade the lead for most of the third quarter before the Sea Lions got a basket and a free throw from Cara Liggins to take the lead for good at the end of the third quarter.  
 
Thoughts from Coach Faulkner
On getting a big win over CBU: "It's very nice to finally get that win, especially for our seniors, I felt bad that Brunk couldn't be out there."

On the total team effort: "They all played their roles very well. Steph played great defense, took her shots when she could, drove to the basket and got herself to the free throw line. Tayla was awesome inside, Roya really looked to attack in the second half, Carol gave us great minutes off of the bench, and Cara made some big shots down the stretch, so it was a great team effort."

On being able to close out a tough game on the road: "One of the things I told them before the game was that this game would be played closely. All the games played last year were close, the teams are always evenly matched and the teams know each other well. We were the tougher team down the stretch, we made big plays, got rebounds, made free throws, and that was the difference."

News and Notes
> The Sea Lions played their first game of the season without senior leader, Alex Brunk, who suffered a season-ending injury to her knee. 
> Tayla Hepburn scored 17 of 25 points in the first half. 
> Sydney Peterson remains perfect from the free-throw line through her first nine collegiate games, going 17-for-17 on the season so far. 
> Grace Brady now has 14 blocks on the season, despite playing limited minutes off the bench. 
> With 93 rebounds on the season, Roya Rustamzada currently sits at fifth all-time in total rebounds in PLNU history. 
> After going 0-4 against the Lancers last season, Coach Faulkner earned her first win over CBU with tonight's victory. 

Up Next
Point Loma will travel to the Bay area next weekend to face Dominican (CA) next Saturday at 2 p.m. before a matchup with Academy of Art the following Monday at 5:30 p.m.