HILO, Hawai'i – The Sea Lions closed out their Hawaii trip in Hilo facing the Vulcans, looking to complete their trip with a 2-1 record. Carol Schroeder notched her third double-double of the season to help lead Point Loma to a 66-50 victory, moving them to 7-5 in PacWest play. 

The first quarter was a face-paced affair as both teams pushed the ball up the floor and found their offense easily with the Vulcans earning the 20-19 advantage at the end of the first. While the scoring cooled off some in the second quarter, the teams matched each other basket-for-basket until a late score by Sydney Peterson gave the Sea Lions the three-point advantage heading into the half. 

The second half was a much different story as the Sea Lions came out with a defensive intensity that held the Vulcans to only seven third quarter points, and 17 points overall in the half. Point Loma used a 30-17 second half advantage to pull away from UHH and earn the win despite a 2-point 13-rebound double-double from the Vulcans' Allie Navarette. 

Ten different Sea Lions scored in the game with Peterson leading with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Schroeder added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Grace Brady also scored in double figures with 10 points as well as three blocks and two steals. Isabel Turk contributed nine points off the bench with Melanie Quijano contributing six points, five rebounds, and four steals.
 
Team Records
PLNU (8-10, 7-5 PacWest), UHH (4-10, 1-9 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
The Sea Lions move into sole possession of fifth place, half a game ahead of Biola. Point Loma sits just a game and a half behind Fresno Pacific for fourth place. The Vulcans dropped to 1-9 in conference play.
 
Turning Point
After the Vulcans hit a three to open the third quarter, the Sea Lions went on a 13-4 run to close out the half taking a nine-point lead and pushing momentum in their favor going into the fourth.  
 
Thoughts from Coach Faulkner
On the defense responding after the first quarter: "I had to get on them a little bit during the first quarter about defensive effort, we have put a big emphasis on it all year. We weren't doing our job. We weren't in the right positions, we were reaching a lot, 20 points in a quarter is too much to give up to any team. We made some adjustments, we did a good job in the second quarter and a great job in the second half. To hold a team to 17 points in a half is a really good defensive effort, we did the things we needed to do and got rebounds."

On the team's energy in the last game of a long trip: "I thought that we did lack a little bit of energy and intensity in that first quarter. To the team's credit we adjusted, it's a fun trip but it is a long trip, and we have short turnarounds for each game. We got out of our rhythm a little bit, but then we were able to adjust and refocus and the result took care of itself."

On the rebounding differential: "I thought that the third quarter we had some great possessions where we crashed the glass and grabbed offensive rebounds, especially Carol. That makes a big difference when we are not shooting the ball as well as we would like. Getting those extra possessions and getting extra opportunities to score again are huge for us. If we want to win high-level basketball games we are going to have to do that against every single team. I was proud of us being able to get 17 offensive rebounds, we made some great effort plays."

On their advantage in the paint: "It's huge for us and I think that's one place where we have an advantage over a lot of teams. Having Grace and Mo stay out of foul trouble is great, they both give us such a great defensive presence, they are able to block shots and keep people away from the rim. I thought they did a great job tonight, Grace had a great second half, Mo struggled with fouls early but did well. The evolution in their game is going to be huge for us."

On preparing for Dominican: "We'll come back, get a little rest, and get back at it on Tuesday. I think that was a game that we started off very poorly, so we need to be prepared for Diaz and ready to play team basketball. We are starting to gel more every game, if we play really good team basketball I think we will have a chance against them on Thursday." 

News and Notes
> This is Schroeder's fifth career game with 11 or more rebounds.
> Point Loma gave up their second-lowest point total of the season (at Biola, 42). 
> PLNU held the Vulcans to 27.8 percent shooting from three and 23.5 percent overall. 
> The Sea Lions were plus-17 rebounding in the game. 
> Carly Raley grabbed a career-high six rebounds.  

Up Next
The Sea Lions will return home to face Dominican (CA) on Jan. 24 for their Welcome Back game at 5:30 p.m. in Golden Gym.