Women's Basketball

Point Loma Secures Semifinal Berth In San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Point Loma secured the final spot in the PacWest Championship semifinals with a 85-74 win against Fresno Pacific on Thursday night in the Conlan Center, setting up the same semifinals matchups as the previous year.

BOX SCORE | POINT LOMA INTERVIEW | FRESNO PACIFIC INTERVIEW
 
No. 4 seed Point Loma is back in the semifinals for the third year in a row, improving to 19-10 on the season. The Sea Lions, who have now won 13-consecutive matches, will next play No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific, who they defeated in last year’s PacWest semifinals. No. 5 seed Fresno Pacific concludes the 2018-19 season with a 19-10 mark, reaching the PacWest Championships for the first time in program history.
 
Point Loma led the entire game, but the Sunbirds never let the lead get out of hand. The Sea Lions pushed the lead to as high as 18 on a Grace Brady lay-up near the end of the second quarter. However, the Sunbirds cut back into that lead, working it down to four when Bree Alvarez made one of her four triples in the game to make the score 67-63 in the fourth quarter.
 
On the next play, Yuendie Guridi made one of the best plays of the tournament so far. She drove down the left side of the key and drew contact. She was fading away from the hoop as she swung the ball with her left hand off the glass. The shot fell after spinning around the rim a couple times for a 3-point play. Cara Liggins scored seven points in the final three minutes of the game to secure the victory, and push the Sea Lions’ tournament record to 5-4 all-time.
 
Alvarez had a game-high 24 points in her final game in a Sunbird uniform. Jessica Malazarte added 18 points and Cassie Pisik tallied 16 to help lead the Sunbirds’ offense.
 
Point Loma was led offensively by Sydney Peterson’s 19-point performance in the victory as she improved to 3-1 in her career in PacWest Tournament games. Liggins added 17 points and six rebounds. Isabel Turk was a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc, leading the Sea Lions’ 36-percent effort from 3-point territory.
 
The Sea Lions defeated Azusa Pacific in the last meeting between the two teams in the PacWest Championships. This year, Azusa Pacific swept the season series, but the two teams haven’t met since the first week of 2019. The semifinal will tip off at 7:15 p.m.