(SAN DIEGO) Saturday's PacWest matchup with Dominican didn't appear to be going PLNU Women's Basketball's way.
 
The Sea Lions trailed by eight points at the half and shot just 38.7% from the field for the game, including 20% from 3-point range.
 
But Point Loma's defense stepped up, especially down the stretch, limiting Dominican to just five made field goals in the second half to force overtime and ultimately win, 60-58, Saturday afternoon in Golden Gym.
 
"A lot of things weren't going right for us tonight and we just kept battling and getting stops and that's what it really came down to," Head Coach Charity Elliott said. "We did not shoot the ball very well today at all, but our defense and our rebounding kept us in the game and made the difference in the end."


 
The Sea Lions raced out to an 8-2 lead with a couple baskets from Haylee Saurette in the opening few minutes, but it was all Penguins the rest of the first half.
 
Point Loma chipped away at its deficit in the third quarter, taking a one-point advantage on a late Ellie Turk 3-pointer, only for Dominican to take its lead right back with a triple of its own to go into the final period up by two.
 
After the Penguins scored on their opening possession of the fourth to go up by four, neither team scored for the next three-and-a-half minutes, before strong point guard play from Kylie Hearn sparked PLNU's comeback in the fourth.
 
Hearn's floater tied the game at 47-47 before she assisted on Saurette's go-ahead triple that made the score 50-49.
 
Dominican scored its next time down the court at the 4:11 mark to regain a one-point advantage, before the teams combined for six missed shots and a pair of turnovers until Turk was fouled with 31 seconds left.
 
Turk drained the crucial first free throw before missing the second, but she managed to get her own rebound, with the Sea Lions calling for a timeout to try and win the game with one final shot.
 
The visitors then forced a turnover to get the ball back with 17 seconds left, but PLNU's defense came up with a clutch final stop, inducing an air-ball 3-pointer from the corner as time expired to force overtime.
 
After an Annika Thayer free throw put Point Loma up by one, an and-one from Dominican gave the Penguins a two-point advantage. PLNU then scored on three-straight possessions, helping the Sea Lions lead by three before Hearn drew a valuable charge in the final minute.
 
"Kylie came in and gave us some huge minutes down the stretch," Elliott said.
 
A Point Loma turnover with six seconds to play gave Dominican a chance to tie, but the Sea Lions didn't allow them that opportunity by fouling before the visitors could get up a shot.
 
From there on out, PLNU made just enough of its free throws to hold on and claim a two-point victory to finish the opening weekend of conference play 2-0 in the PacWest.
 
"I'm so proud," Elliott said of her group. "We never quit. We kept believing and executing exactly what we needed to."
 
Saurette led the team with her 20 points and 12 rebounds, with Thayer pitching in 12 points and eight boards.
 
Turk nearly joined them in double figures with her nine points, while Maddie Mersch pulled down seven boards and tallied half of PLNU's steals with three of her own.
 
"We are learning every single day what we are capable of, what we can do and what it actually requires for us to be successful – the energy, the effort, the communication," Elliott said. "The little things make a huge difference."
 
Point Loma (4-5 overall, 2-0 PacWest) will look to continue its unbeaten start to PacWest play next week when the Sea Lions play two road games, beginning on Wednesday at Biola. Tip-off in La Mirada is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
"They are just locked in," Elliott said of her team. "They are communicating on the floor and there aren't these miscommunications. We're not there yet, but we have come a long way in finding chemistry both offensively and defensively."