HONOLULU – Onjalise Carley-Hilliard returned to the court and scored a career-high 27 points but it was not enough as the Point Loma women's basketball team fell on the road to first-place and No. 10 ranked Hawaii Pacific, 69-64, on Monday, Jan. 6.
 
Carley-Hilliard recorded her new career-high of 27 points in just 24 minutes of play. She went 8-of-11 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. This topped her previous PLNU-high of 21, which she posted against Azusa Pacific, and the 24 she scored last season while playing for Holy Names. She also grabbed nine rebounds and had a block. Cara Liggins was the only other Sea Lion in double-figures. She hit 8-of-10 shots at the free throw line en route to posting 13 points to go along with her eight rebounds. Amy Baum scored 18 points to lead the Sharks.
 
Point Loma never led in the game as HPU jumped out to a 6-0 advantage and never gave it up. The Sea Lions cut the lead to 33-26 at halftime but saw the Sharks outscore them in the third quarter to open up a 16-point lead (56-40). PLNU battled back with a 6-0 spurt, fueled by Carley-Hilliard in the final minute, to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 10 seconds remaining, but Makenna Gambee hit two free throws to seal the game.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (9-4, 5-2 PacWest), #10 Hawaii Pacific (12-1, 7-0 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
The win keeps Hawaii Pacific atop the PacWest standings at 7-0. HPU is the only remaining undefeated team in PacWest play. The loss drops PLNU from second to fourth in the standings. Point Loma is a half-game behind Biola for third and one back of Concordia for second place.
 
Words from coach Lisa Faulkner
On Hawaii Pacific: "They are very well-coached, have good players and are tough. We knew going in that this was going to be a tough test for us playing at their place. Ultimately, they made some toughness plays and we missed some. We got down big in the third quarter and you can't get down by double-digits against a good team on their home court."
 
On battling back in the game: "Battling back as far as we did to make it a game at the ed was definitely a positive for us. We didn't shoot well but we still deserve some credit for getting some stops, some defensive rebounds and for attacking in a way that got us to the free throw line. Onjalise had a great game, but when you get down big it is just hard to come back. The lesson is that we need to play consistently for 40 minutes."
 
On the loss: "Both this game and the Hawaii Hilo game are great learning experiences for us. I think in the long run it will help us, but it stinks because you never want to drop two games on the road."
 
On what PLNU needs to do to close out the trip: "We need to figure somethings out offensively. We need to attack the paint under control, make some open shots and rely on those same principles that allowed us to start conference play at 5-0. If we can do those we will be in every game."
 
News and Notes
> This was the first time all season that PLNU has lost back-to-back games
> Sydney Peterson was held scoreless in a game for just the second time in her career
> PLNU outscored HPU by 11 at the free throw line (24-13)
> Point Loma dominated the glass (52-34)
> HPU committed just 11 turnovers while PLNU had 23 and were outscored 19-3 in points off turnovers
 
Next Game
PLNU will close out its road trip against Chaminade (2-10, 2-4 PacWest) on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. (PST)