SAN DIEGO – Haylee Saurette came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points and the Point Loma women's basketball made all the clutch plays down the stretch to topple No. 25 Concordia, 80-75, in the PacWest opener for both teams.
 
PLNU fought back from an early deficit to take a 36-31 lead at halftime. The Sea Lions then went up by as many as 15 in the third quarter and led 57-49 going into the fourth. However, the Eagles continued to chip away at the lead and they cut it to one point (75-74) with 1:08 remaining.
 
Coach Lisa Faulkner called a timeout and set up a play in which Alix Henderson found Cara Liggins at the free throw line and she hit Saurette on a backdoor cut for the layup to go ahead 77-74. After a defensive stand, Liggins sealed the game with a driving layup to give Point Loma its second straight win over a top 25 team.
 
The Sea Lions were able to earn the win by dominating in the paint. They outscored the Eagles 60-24 inside the key, including 26-16 on second-chance points. That advantage was helped by Point Loma grabbing 22 offensive rebounds and shooting 31-of-64 inside the arc.
 
Madison Corder pulled down six of those offensive rebounds for PLNU. She finished the game with 14 points (7-of-11), eight rebounds and three steals. Alix Henderson came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting as the Sea Lions' bench outscored the Eagles' reserves 43-6. Concordia's Michaela Vanderklugt led all scorers with 25 points.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (2-0, 1-0 PacWest), #25 Concordia (1-2, 0-1 PacWest)
 
Turning Point
After trailing by as many as nine in the first quarter, the Sea Lions used an 11-2 in the second quarter to take the lead over Concordia and never give it back. Although the Eagles cut the game to one point in the fourth quarter, the Sea Lions never relinquished the lead thanks to quality defense and solid execution in the final minutes.
 
Words from coach Lisa Faulkner and Haylee Saurette


News and Notes
> All 10 student-athletes that entered the game scored for the Sea Lions
> PLNU had just 13 turnovers today after committing 30 in their season opener vs. NNU
> Kylie Hearn and Ellie Turk each made their first career starts
> This broke a streak of 22 straight games with a 3-pointer for Liggins
> PLNU earned the win despite being outscored at the free throw line 21-6

Up Next
Point Loma turn right around and head to Irvine, Calif., to face Concordia again tomorrow. The game will tip at 2 p.m. and it can be streamed for free at portal.stretchinternet.com/cui.