(AZUSA, Calif.) PLNU Women's Basketball defeated No. 18 Azusa Pacific on the road on Wednesday night, 72-68, in a battle between the top two teams in the PacWest standings.
The win, which keeps Point Loma in first place in the conference, means the Sea Lions complete a season sweep of the Cougars for the first time since 2014-15.
The victory is also Point Loma's 20th of the season, the team's most wins since 2016-17.
The Sea Lions raced out of the gates firing, scoring the first nine points of the game, with
Tavia Rowell hitting a pair of 3-pointers and
Alli McDonald adding one of her own.
PLNU then began the second quarter on a 7-0 run, with
Shayla O'Neil's triple putting the visitors up by 12, as the Sea Lions prevented the Cougars from scoring for the first four minutes of the quarter.
Point Loma took a 10-point lead into the half, which they held until midway through the fourth quarter when APU tied the game for the first time since the opening tip.
The Cougars briefly took a one-point advantage with 3:39 to play, only for
Eiley Tippins to sink a pair of free throws to immediately put the Sea Lions back in front.
Another 3-pointer from Rowell, who went a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc, then put PLNU up by four.
APU got back to within one, only for the Sea Lions to hold the Cougars scoreless over the final two minutes, as Point Loma's defense came up with timely plays in the form of blocks from Tippins and McDonald, as well as a steal from
Kaylee Byon.
McDonald then iced the game for good with a pair of free throws in the final second.
Rowell led all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, while McDonald added 16 points. Tippins nearly joined them in double figures with nine points, to go along with six boards.
Point Loma (20-5 overall, 15-2 PacWest) now holds a one-game lead over Vanguard in the conference standings and is 1.5 games ahead of APU with the head-to-head tiebreaker already clinched.
PLNU is set to host Vanguard on Saturday inside Golden Gym at 2 p.m. in a rematch of a Jan. 23 matchup which Vanguard won 60-50. The Sea Lions have won six straight games since that loss in Costa Mesa.
A Point Loma victory on Saturday would clinch the Sea Lions at least a share of their first ever PacWest championship.
