(POMONA, Calif.) PLNU Women's Basketball made a major statement to open up its 2023-24 season, defeating No. 22 Cal State San Marcos 75-73 in the first game of the PacWest/CCAA Crossover Challenge on Friday.
The win against last year's regional finalists is the Sea Lions' first against the Cougars since 2015 and ends a four-game losing streak against them.
"I'm so proud of the fight and toughness tonight against a very good and well-coached team," Head Coach
Charity Elliott said. "It was definitely a game of runs and I'm just really proud of how we executed down the stretch. We had some players hit some big-time shots tonight."
Point Loma led by as many as 14 in the first half with 5:10 left in the second quarter after a
Katie Scott layup.
CSUSM cut PLNU's lead down to five before the half and then outscored the Sea Lions by eight in the third quarter to take a three-point advantage going into the fourth.
The Cougars extended their advantage to as many as six with 7:57 to play in the final period before
Hannah Golan's triple at the halfway point of the fourth restored PLNU's lead.
The teams then went back-and-forth all the way to the end, with
Alyssa Munn's 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining putting the Sea Lions up by two.
CSUSM went back the other way to tie it up before Golan scored what proved to be the game-winner, driving to the basket to score the final points of the game with 35 seconds on the clock.
Tavia Rowell led four Sea Lions in double figures with 17 points, while pitching in six rebounds.
Katie Scott scored 16 points and added seven boards in just 16 minutes, with
Ellie Turk (10 points, six assists) and Golan (10 points) also scoring in double figures.
Eiley Tippins flirted with a double-double of nine points and eight rebounds.
Point Loma (1-0 overall) returns to the court on Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Sea Lions take on tournament host Cal Poly Pomona.
