(SAN DIEGO) Third-seeded PLNU Women's Basketball advanced to the semifinals of the PacWest Championships for the third-straight year with a dominant 72-50 first-round win over sixth-seeded Biola on Thursday night in Golden Gym.
The two teams battled to an even first quarter, 8-8, before Point Loma went on an 18-0 run in the second period to go ahead by double digits.
After holding an 11-point lead at the half, 33-22, the Sea Lions extended their advantage to 16 after three quarters when
Katie Scott found
Maddie Mersch for a layup to beat the buzzer.
Tavia Rowell, who led all players with 22 points, drained her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 5:48 remaining in the final period to put PLNU up by 21 before the tournament hosts officially booked their spot in the semifinals.
Point Loma outrebounded Biola 43-33 and held advantages in points in the paint (38-32) and bench points (28-23).
All 11 PLNU players who played in the game scored.
BU entered ranking second in the PacWest in 3-point shooting % but the Sea Lions held the Eagles to just 3-for-15 (20%) from behind the arc on the night.
Biola had beaten Point Loma in both regular season meetings this year, but the third time was the charm for the Sea Lions, who have now eliminated the Eagles in back-to-back postseasons.
Third-seeded Point Loma (18-11 overall, 13-7 PacWest) is hoping for more of the same on Friday when it takes on second-seeded Fresno Pacific (20-8, 14-6) at 5 p.m. in Golden Gym.
The Sea Lions have been unable to advance past the PacWest semifinals the last two years, so they are hoping a third-straight trip to the conference semis does the trick this time around.
PLNU and FPU split their previous two matchups this season, with both games decided by just four points.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
