SAN DIEGO – The Sea Lions had a tough road trip to face Biola on Thursday night and despite a late push, the Eagles came away with a 77-73 victory.

Point Loma got off to a slow start offensively, managing only 10 points in the first quarter, but offense became the theme for the rest of the game. The lowest point total by either team after the first quarter was 19. The team trailed for most of the game falling behind by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter. 

The Sea Lions came out firing in the second half and connected on 45.7 percent of their shots, including 46.6 percent from three, out of the halftime break. The great second half shooting would not be enough for PLNU as Biola guard, DeMoria White, poured in 35 points including going 8-of-11 from three point range to keep Point Loma at bay. With less than 20 seconds to play Roya Rustamzada made a clutch three-pointer to cut the Eagles lead to two and the Sea Lions were able to force a timely turnover to get the ball back with 13 second remaining. Point Loma then had a costly turnover with three seconds remaining that sealed the game for Biola. 

Rustamzada had one of her best scoring games for PLNU this season tallying 27 points, including making four shots from behind-the-arc, where she has struggled some this season, she also added nine rebounds and three assists. Sydney Peterson and Stephanie Williams each added double-digit points to the effort, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively. Carol Schroeder grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds off of the bench for the Sea Lions and added six points and two steals in 22 minutes of action. 

Team Records
Point Loma (15-10, 10-8 PacWest), Biola (12-12, 9-9 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
Biola is currently 9-9 in PacWest play but are unable to play in the conference tournament as they are in their transition process to NCAA Div. II. The Sea Lions must win their last two contests if they hope to make it into the PacWest tournament and would need at least one loss from Fresno Pacific or several losses by another contending team in order to make the field of six teams. 
 
The Turning Point
The Eagles controlled the game from the first tip and always seemed to have the Sea Lions at an arm's reach. Point Loma had their one chance to tie or win the game in the waning seconds, but the late turnover dashed their hopes of a comeback. 

Thoughts from Coach Faulkner
On the play of White: "She made big shots. We knew she was a key to their offense and she is capable of games like she had tonight. Overall, we did what we were supposed to do defensively. She made some big-time threes and when we made mistakes she made us pay."

On defending the three: "Defending the three-point line is huge and we knew they could be a threat from that range. It was a point of emphasis for us but you have to give credit to them for making their open shots and capitalizing on our mistakes."

On the final 30 seconds: "We cut the lead to two on Roya's three and were able to force a turnover. We had 12 or 13 seconds left and we didn't execute well from the sideline, they were able to tip our entry pass but we held on to the ball. We got the look we wanted but it came down to us not being able to execute on that last possession."

On the team's energy throughout the game: "I was really proud of our effort in the second half, we really came out and battled after halftime. We struggled with our energy in the first half and that is huge, especially this time of year when you are battling to get into postseason play. You can't afford to have lapses in energy and in the first 20 minutes we did, and it cost us this game." 

News and Notes
> Rustamzada needs only 11 rebounds to break both the PLNU and PacWest career rebounding record. 
> Biola only recorded one steal, of PLNU's nine turnovers eight were unforced. 
> In two games against the Sea Lions, Biola's White has scored 58 points. 
> Rustamzada's four made three's were her highest total of the season. 
> PLNU grabbed more offensive rebounds, but were outscored in second chance points. 
> Seven of Schroeder's 12 rebounds were offensive. 

Up Next
Point Loma will play their final two games at home with their first coming this Saturday, Feb. 17, when they host the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans at 2 p.m. in Golden Gym.