Women's Basketball

Point Loma Holds Off Concordia Comeback For Semifinal Berth

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Despite leading by as much as 19 points in the first half, Point Loma needed a defensive stop on the final possession of the game to hold onto a three-point lead to beat Concordia, 63-60, and advance to the PacWest Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals.

BOX SCORE    CONCORDIA INTERVIEW    POINT LOMA INTERVIEW

The win propelled Point Loma's record to 18-10 on the season, winning the rubber match against Concordia, which dropped to 16-11 to finish the season. The win also kept Point Loma's season alive as the Sea Lions go on to play No. 1 Azusa Pacific on Friday.

Late in the second quarter, Gracy Brady made one of her team-high eight field goals to give the Sea Lions a 38-19 lead, but that was as big as Point Loma's lead ever got for the rest of the game as Concordia mounted a massive second-half comeback.

Concordia answered with a 15-3 run that finished with Michaela Vanderklugt recording a 7-1 run by herself. Roya Rustamzada made two field goals for Point Loma and Sydney Peterson knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits.

Concordia continued to chip away at the lead, cutting it down to three points with under two minutes to go on a jumper by Sopavy Seng. However, in the final 100 seconds of play, neither team put another point on the board. A last-second 3-point attempt by Montana Walters didn't go for the Eagles as Point Loma's defense held out for the victory.

Rustamzada led the Point Loma defense with 10 defensive rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Brady added three blocks of her own as she scored a team-high 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the victory. Three other players scored double digits with Rustamzada finishing with 13, while Cara Liggins added 14 and Peterson had 12 points of her own.

Point Loma will play Azusa Pacific for the third time this year with the Cougars taking each of the first two meetings. Azusa Pacific and Point Loma were voted PacWest Preseason Co-Favorites.

In the NCAA West Regional Rankings, Point Loma currently sits at No. 9 with the top eight teams advancing to the tournament. No. 8 Montana State Billings plays against Central Washington tonight in a game that could have big implications for Point Loma's season.