SAN DIEGO---Leave it to some home cooking to earn their best shooting performance since the first game of the season, as the Point Loma Sea Lions (9-7 overall, 4-5 PacWest) handed a rare Southern California defeat to the Hawai'i Pacific Sharks (4-9 overall, 1-5 PacWest) with a 84-65 win Saturday afternoon in Golden Gymnasium.

After more than a month without a home game inside Golden Gymnasium, the Sea Lions showed how happy they were to be at home. And they shared the love.

Point Loma was ultra-efficient from the start thanks to excellent distribution and unselfish play.

Point Loma and Hawai'i Pacific traded buckets through the first segment but the Sea Lion's solid shooting over the first five and a half minutes helped them hold an early 11-9 edge.

Ellie Turk caught fire after the first media timeout, knocking out back-to-back three's to open up Point Loma's lead.

"It was really about letting the game come to us," Turk said after the game. "We have really talented players and we trust each other. For me, its just about taking what is available and not trying to force things."
The Sea Lions shot 3-5 from deep in the first quarter and Ellie Turk added more hot shooting to start the 2^nd Quarter, as she had 15 points in her first 10 minutes on the floor.

It was Point Loma's defense and ball sharing that pushed the lead into double figures in the second quarter. PLNU assisted on 12 of its first 16 field goals with seven players scoring in the first fifteen minutes and four different players dishing out multiple assists.

"We have a bunch of unselfish players." Turk added. "We know what everyone is capable of and we trust each other and that is more indicative of who we are."

The Sea Lions widened their halftime advantage to 43-30 while shooting a blistering 61% from the field in the half.

While the shooting percentage slipped to a modest 50% in the third quarter, Point Loma firmly held the lead as four different Sea Lions scored in the period.

Ellie Turk led all scorers with a season-high 21 points. Cara Liggins added another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Madison Corder delivered 12 points off the bench and Annika Thayer chipped in 8 points and 10 boards.

The Sea Lions finished with 25 assists on 31 made baskets. Alix Henderson led Sea Lions with 7 assists.

Point Loma is the first Southern California School to beat Hawai'i Pacific's during the PacWest regular season game since the 2018-2019 season (Feb. 21, 2019) when Point Loma beat the Sharks 65-64.

Point Loma will continue at home next Thursday when they host Hawai'i Hilo at 5:30pm inside Golden Gymnasium.