(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Basketball clinched at least a share of the PacWest Conference championship with a 56-51 victory over Vanguard on Saturday afternoon in Golden Gym.
The PacWest title is Point Loma's first in women's basketball since joining the conference ahead of the 2012-13 season.
PLNU closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 27-26 lead into the locker room.
Trailing 19-26 with 2:42 left in the first half,
Shayla O'Neil and
Tavia Rowell hit back-to-back 3-pointers before
Eiley Tippins gave the Sea Lions a halftime advantage.
Alli McDonald then went on a personal 5-0 stretch in the third quarter, hitting a corner 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to put PLNU up by seven.
The Sea Lions then opened the fourth with a
Kaylee Byon 3-point play to put Point Loma up by double digits for the first time, as she drove into the lane and absorbed the contact at the rim.
The hosts extended their lead to as many as 12 on
Hannah Golan's layup off a near full-court, baseline inbounds pass from O'Neil.
The visitors got no closer than five the rest of the way, as Point Loma sealed the victory before celebrating by cutting the nets postgame.
Rowell scored 11 points to lead the team, followed by 10 points apiece from Tippins and Golan.
Kaylee Byon (8 assists) and
Alli McDonald (6 rebounds) each scored nine points.
PLNU has clinched the No. 1 seed in the PacWest Championships (March 6-8) and will earn the outright conference title with at least one win in its two remaining games or a loss by both Azusa Pacific and Vanguard.
The Sea Lions are now guaranteed a fourth consecutive trip to the PacWest semifinals, as the No. 1 seed earns them a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Point Loma (21-5 overall, 16-2 PacWest) returns to Golden Gym on Thursday to play Menlo at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Westmont on Saturday at 2 p.m. on Senior Day.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
