SAN DIEGO -  After completing a tough five-game road swing to open conference play the Sea Lions finally got the opportunity to play a conference game at home. Concordia sat in the top half of the conference with a 4-2 record and Point Loma hoped to secure their third consecutive win. Despite a stellar second half performance, offensive struggles in the first half put the Sea Lions in too much of a deficit to come back for the win as they dropped to 3-3 in conference play with the 78-70 loss. 

Roya Rustamzada recorded her tenth double-double on the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, she also added five assists and two blocked shots. Grace Brady had another solid performance since taking on a starting role with 16 points and six blocks on the night. Cara Liggins and Sydney Peterson also took big steps forward in this game, Liggins contributed 14 points and eight boards while Peterson dished out eight assists to go along with eight points. 

Point Loma was able to go on an 11-5 run to open up the fourth quarter cutting the Eagles lead to only two with seven minutes left to play. Rustamzada and Liggins hit back-to-back threes to give the Sea Lions life and stingy defense on the other end of the court helped give the team more opportunities to cut into the Eagles lead. Yet, Concordia found ways to put the ball in the basket and maintain the lead they had kept since late in the first quarter. 
 
Team Records
Point Loma (8-5, 3-3 PacWest), Concordia (8-5, 5-2 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
PLNU sits in the middle of the conference standings with a .500 record while Concordia sits firmly in fifth place with only two losses on the season. 
 
The Turning Point
The teams played closely throughout the first half despite the Sea Lions struggling on the offensive side of the ball. With 4:47 left in the second quarter the Eagles held just a two-point lead, 27-25. The Eagles would then go on an 11-2 run to close out the first half, including two three-point buckets with under a minute to play in the quarter, to take an 11-point lead into halftime. Point Loma was unable to recover from this deficit despite shooting 53 percent from the field in the second half. 

Thoughts from Coach Faulkner

On slow offensive start: "It wasn't that we weren't getting good shots tonight, we just need focus better on finishing. When we get open opportunities we need to slow down and knock down shots. We have really good shooters, and while their percentages are not great right now, I think it just a matter of our players practicing more at game speed and making shots when we are open."

On the second quarter: "It took us a while to pick up the energy in the second quarter. That lack of energy really cost us. Right now, we just can't afford to get behind in games."

On the team's 12 blocks: "A big part of that we have the human eraser, Grace Brady. She is so long and so aware around the basket. She is a big part of our defense and she had six blocks tonight. It is nice having her to take away drives. Stephanie Williams also stepped up with three blocks as well. It is nice that we have length to challenge shots, but we need to be better defensively and keep people in front of us."

On the changes to the frontline: "We are growing, not only as individual basketball players but also as a coaching staff. We have had a lot of adversity this season, and what I'm really proud of is that we have taken it in stride and made adjustments. We have a lot of freshmen playing a lot of minutes, which is great for people getting experience. Roya has also really stepped up both in her game and as a leader. Although Brunk is out she has been a great mentor too. Right now we are focused on getting better every day and competing hard in games. I was proud of our effort, especially in the second half. It is just really hard right now to get down because we don't quite have the depth and energy to come back from big deficits."

On next game vs. California Baptist: "Both teams know each other so well. Both teams have different personnel than the past few years but it is nice because we don't have to go through a ton of scout stuff. Each game is just a matter of effort, and if we can do that we will be in most games, but if the effort falters it will be a struggle."

News and Notes
> PLNU continues to rely heavily on scoring from their starters, they only had four points off of the bench in this game.
> Rustamzada has now had two separate stretches this season where she has had five consecutive double-doubles.
> Brady has now had four or more blocks in four of the past five games and six games on the season with at least three.
> The Eagles outscored the Sea Lions on points off of turnovers 14-8. 
> PLNU gave up 16 offensive rebounds but only allowed 11 second-chance points for the game. 

Up Next
Point Loma will at home once again this week as they host the Lancers of California Baptist on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Sea Lions grabbed at win at CBU earlier this season and look to complete a season sweep for the first time since the 2009-10 season when both schools were still competing in the NAIA.