Box Score

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SAN DIEGO – They did enough things right that on another day, the Seattle Pacific Falcons might have pulled out the victory.
 
On Tuesday, Point Loma Nazarene University did a few more things right and pulled it out instead.
 
Courtney Hollander had 17 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, but Point Loma had four players in double figures, led by the 18 points of Roya Rustamzada, to beat SPU in a non-conference women's basketball game, 68-62.
 
The 17 points in Golden Gymnasium was a career high for sophomore guard Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS). It topped her old high 13, set twice already this season, most recently last Friday against UC San Diego. The 13 rebounds tied her career high, set on Nov. 14 against Fresno Pacific, when she also had 13 points for her first collegiate double-double.
 
Hollander was the only player in double figures on Tuesday for the Falcons (2-3). Sophomore guard Jordan McPhee added nine points, junior forward Hannah Rodrigues had eight, as did junior guard Brianne Lasconia.

 

"It's just tough because we're doing a lot of things well," SPU coach Julie Heisey said. "Our margin of error is slim. Some of the things we're making mistakes on is because of youth. They're all things that we can get better at. But right now, it's hard because it's costly."
 
With a five-game November road stretch now completed, Seattle Pacific will have the rest of the week off from competition before opening its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule next Thursday, Dec. 3, against Western Oregon in Brougham Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.
 
Undefeated Point Loma (4-0) appeared to be getting a grip on Tuesday's game after Rustamzada drained a 3-pointer for a 60-50 lead with 4:48 left.
 
Seattle Pacific responded with three consecutive 3-pointers in the next 1 minute, 39 seconds: the first one by junior guard Rachel Shim, then two in a row by Lasconia. Just like that, the double-digit deficit was down to one a 60-59 with 3:09 still on the clock.
 
But Point Loma went on a 7-1 run to regain control, pushing the lead to 67-60 with 23 seconds left.
 
"Once you get down by 10, it's hard to come back," Heisey said. "Stacey (Lukasiewicz) and Bre (Lasconia) did a good job and gave us a spark when we needed a spark."
 
The Falcons actually had three more field goals (24-21), a slightly higher shooting percentage (.387 to .375). The Sea Lions came in shooing .500 for the season, one of just eight teams in all of NCAA Division II at that percentage or better.
 
"In the first half, we played outstanding defense," Heisey said. "In the second half, we gave them too many open looks, and they knocked them down."
 
Led by Hollander's 13, SPU dominated the boards, 51-28, including 17-5 at the offensive end.
                                                                                                                                      
But PLNU had a significant edge at the foul line, hitting 17 of 24, while Seattle Pacific was just 6 of 9. The Sea Lions also converted 25 Falcon turnovers into 23 points, while they turned it over just 11 times, leading to only nine points for SPU.
 
In addition to Rustamzada's 18, Alex Brunk had 15, Sydney Tonack 13, and Madison West 11 for Point Loma.
 
"We don't want to be 2-and-3, but we've played three quality teams (UC San Diego, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma) and we had our chances," Heisey said. "We have to come back and learn from our mistakes Everything is fixable. Some of the things are (just a matter of) experience and consistency."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015
Golden Gymnasium / San Diego, Calif.
 
Point Loma Nazarene University 68, Seattle Pacific 62
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-3)
Courtney Hollander 7-12 1-2 17, Jordan McPhee 3-12 1-2 9, Hannah Rodrigues 3-7 2-2 8, Brianne Lasconia 3-7 0-0 8, Stacey Lukasiewicz 3-10 1-1 7, Rachel Shim 2-4 0-0 5, Molly Grager 2-4 0-0 4, Jaylee Albert 1-3 0-0 3, Erica Pagano 0-2 1-2 1, Lindsay Lee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 6-9 62.
 
POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY (4-0)
Roya Rustamzada 7-13 0-0 18, Alex Brunk 5-16 3-6 15, Sydney Tonack 5-11 2-4 13, Madison West 3-7 4-4 11, Amy Orgren 0-3 5-6 5, Stephanie Williams 1-2 2-2 5, Alex Warren 0-1 1-2 1, Jordan Ligons 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Viettry 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 17-24 68.
 
Seattle Pacific                       12           14           18           18           -- 62
Point Loma Nazarene          14           15           22           17           -- 68
 
3-point goals – SPU 8-26 (Lasconia 2-4, Hollander 2-4, McPhee 2-6, Albert 1-3, Shim 1-3, Lee 0-1, Lukasiewicz 0-4, Rodrigues 0-1), PLNU 9-22 (Rustamzada 4-8, Brunk 2-5, West 1-4, Williams 1-1, Tonack 1-1, Viettry 0-1, Ogren 0-2). Fouled out – SPU: Lasconia, Lukasiewicz. Rebounds – SPU 51 (Hollander 13), PLNU 28 (Rustamzada 7), Assists – SPU 13 (Lukasiewicz 7), PLNU 12 (Ogren 4). Turnovers – SPU 25, PLNU 11. Total fouls – SPU 20, PLNU 13. Technical fouls – None. A – 147.
 
Next game --        Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
                                Thursday, Dec. 3    7:00 p.m.
                                Brougham Pavilion