Upset Bid Falls Short at Point Loma, 60-54

Box Score 

(2/19/08 - Women's Basketball) SAN DIEGO - It's a little late in the season for moral victories, but a youthful Concordia squad pushed #3-ranked Point Loma Nazarene to the limit before falling to a 60-54 scoreline, Tuesday evening in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Eagles must have held their heads high after giving the co-GSAC leaders all they could handle in Golden Gym. A 8-1 spurt late in the first half saw the Eagles erase a four-point deficit and grab a 25-22 lead after a jumper by Cheyenne Wallace with 3:33 to play. The Sea Lions scored the next three points, but Nicole Fu hit a pair from the charity stripe with 36 seconds left to send the Eagles to the break with a two-point lead.

Concordia stood toe-to-toe with the home side in almost every category through the first 20 minutes, matching the Sea Lions with 12 points off turnovers, converting one more field goal and forcing three more turnovers. The Eagles also matched the much-taller Sea Lions on the boards, 19-19, including an offensive rebound tally of 10.

Karen Carney pushed the Eagles lead back to four points with a jumper just 21 seconds into the second half. However, the Eagles found things tough on the offensive end for the next nine minutes. The Sea Lions scored 11-straight points while the Eagles missed their next 11 shots and committed eight turnovers for a 36-29 lead.

The Eagles had no plans of going away quietly and scored six-straight points to claw back within a point. Following two free throws by Cheyenne Wallace with 7:13 to play, the Eagles still sat within three points, but hit another drought that proved too much to overcome.

Meghan McGuire nailed a three-pointer that ignited a 11-0 run over a 3:09 stretch. While the Eagles missed six-straight shots and committed a pair of turnovers, the Sea Lions got seven points from McGuire while Colleen Planeta and Liah Ector also added field goals to claim a 51-37 lead.

The level of fight in the Eagles remained on high as Kayanna Nichols and Priscilla Angeloni hit back-to-back shots. The three-point shooting that had eluded the Eagles thus far came to life as Fu and Carney hit from distance, then Fu was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted each free throw to make it 56-52 with 58 seconds to play.

The Eagles fouled Amanda Franz, but she missed the front end of her 1-and-1, giving the Eagles a lifeline. Fu raced down court, but her three-pointer missed the mark and McGuire grabbed the rebound. She made 1-of-2 on the other end, then missed two more at the stripe after Tyler Howard was off on another three-pointer.

Though Franz grabbed the rebound off the third miss, she turned the ball over and Cheyenne Wallace hit a short jumper with 24 seconds left. That would be the end of the line for the Eagles, however, as Nichols missed a late three after McGuire hit one more free throw.

Fu tallied a career-high 21 points, hitting on 4-of-9 from three-point range, while also adding 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. Carney had her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Nichols also chipped in 11 points and 4 assists. Planeta led all scorers with 18 points to go along with 8 rebounds for Point Loma Nazarene (21-2, 15-1 GSAC) while Ector added 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Concordia (10-16, 4-12 GSAC) returns home this Saturday, February 23 to host Biola in a key positional playoff battle with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.