(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Basketball was edged by Fresno Pacific in the PacWest semifinals on Friday, 63-61, and will now seek an at-large berth into the NCAA West Regional.
Point Loma (18-12 overall) entered the week ranked seventh in the latest regional poll and will find out on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. if it did enough to earn one of eight spots into the NCAA postseason.
Regardless of its postseason fate, the Sea Lions can hold their heads high after their best PacWest regular season finish since 2016-17 and a hard-fought battle in Friday's semifinal defeat.
Ellie Turk's sweet feed found
Eiley Tippins for a layup to beat the first-quarter buzzer and give PLNU an 18-13 lead after the first quarter before FPU took a one-point advantage into the half, 31-30.
After the Sunbirds scored the first five points of the third quarter, the Sea Lions responded with an 8-0 run, capped by a
Tavia Rowell steal and score to go back ahead.
Fresno Pacific then retook the lead by six before
Maddie Mersch scored the final four points of the quarter to cut PLNU's deficit to two entering the fourth.
After the Sunbirds went back up by six once more,
Tavia Rowell and
Hannah Golan made clutch baskets to make it a one-point game in the final minute.
Following a defensive stop, the Sea Lions had a chance to go back in front but missed at the rim. Then following a 1-for-2 trip to the line for FPU, PLNU got the ball back down by two with seven seconds remaining but were unable to finish at the basket after a well-drawn play.
The ball was last touched by the Sunbirds, however, so the Sea Lions got the ball out of bounds with four seconds to play. PLNU was then fouled on a last-second shot attempt but missed the first free throw with the ball rolling around the rim twice and then out.
Point Loma nearly corralled the offensive rebound after an intentionally missed second free throw, but FPU was able to hold on for the win.
Mersch and Golan each scored 12 points to lead the team, as Point Loma held a 38-26 advantage in points in the paint.
Rowell joined them in double figures with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, while
Katie Scott scored nine points in just 11 minutes of action before exiting with an injury.
Point Loma was eliminated from the PacWest Tournament in the semifinal round for the third-straight season.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
