Although the Point Loma Nazarene men’s basketball team saw its 10-game winning streak snapped in overtime at Westmont, the PLNU women regained the lead in the PacWest Conference standings while the San Diego City College men and Palomar College women inched closer to Pacific Coast Athletic Conference community college titles with key games on tap this week.
The PLNU women (18-5, 13-2) gained a half-game lead over Azusa Pacific in the PacWest standings with road wins over Jessup (57-48) and Westmont (67-59) last week. Tavia Rowell led PLNU with 38 points and seven rebounds over the two games. Forwards Alli McDonald (20 points, 20 rebounds) and Eiley Tippins (18 points, eight rebounds) and point guard Kylee Byon (16 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists) also starred for the Sea Lions.
PLNU’s men fell 99-89 to Westmont in overtime. Guard Zackry Paulsen scored 33 points against Westmont while Coby Barnes had 17 before being one of three Sea Lions to foul out. PLNU (20-5, 13-2) still owns a 1 ½-game lead in the PacWest standings.
Elsewhere:
• The conference-leading San Diego City College men’s basketball team hosts MiraCosta College in a key game Friday, while Palomar College has opened up a 2 ½-game lead in the women’s race.
SDCC (19-5, 11-1) defeated Imperial Valley (89-55) and Cuyamaca (64-55) last week. Guard Junior Camacho led the way with 27 points and 15 rebounds over the two games. MiraCosta (18-7, 11-2) remained a half-game behind the Knights with wins over Grossmont (67-48) and Southwestern (54-51). Guards Benji Hilstock (Vista High) and DaVaughn McCrumb led the way with 29 and 25 points, respectively, in the two games while 6-9 post Ramel Bethea had 21 points and 25 rebounds.
• Palomar College’s women’s basketball team (17-6, 9-0) remained undefeated in PCAC play with wins over SDCC (81-66) and Grossmont (74-55) — dropping the 18-5 Griffins into a three-way tie for second with San Diego Mesa (17-7 overall) and IVC (15-9) for second place. Forward Kailani Flournoy, a 5-10 freshman from Mater Dei Catholic High School, scored 19 points and had 25 rebounds against Grossmont and totaled 28 points and 35 rebounds for the week. Freshman guard Kylee Trujillo (Mission Hills High School) had 34 points and 12 rebounds in the two games while Brooke Quintana (Fallbrook High School) scored 21 points.
• Palomar College’s softball team is off to a 4-1 start to the season with a 47-9 edge in runs.
• MiraCosta College is off to a 5-2 start in women’s beach volleyball.
• University of San Diego’s ninth-ranked men’s tennis team improved to 7-0 with a 4-0 win over No. 12 Oklahoma Saturday on the Toreros’ courts. Oliver Tarvet, ranked No. 2 in the individual singles rankings, ran his record to 10-1 then teamed with No. 1-ranked doubles partner Stian Klaassen to win for the 11th time in 12 matches.
• USD’s men’s (4-22, 1-12) and women’s (4-19, 0-14) basketball teams continued their struggles with a pair of West Coast Conference losses. The Toreros men have lost 12 straight, the women 14 straight.
• While UC San Diego’s men’s basketball team scored a breakthrough win at UC Irvine Saturday night, the women lost 56-49 at home to the Anteaters. Sumayah Sugapong led UCSD (11-13, 7-5) with 15 points.
• Julia Di Silvestri (pole vault), Feyi Olukanni (shot put) and Makena Bailey (high jump) scored wins for UCSD’s women’s track team at the Wolf Pack Classic indoor track meet in Reno.
• Paige Donnelly (Poway High School) and Jillian Albayati each hit a pair of home runs and Savannah Coyle (Rancho Buena Vista High School) picked up two wins and a save as the Cal State San Marcos women’s softball team, which is ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division II, swept doubleheaders from Azusa Pacific and Vanguard over the weekend to run its record to 10-1.
• The Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (5-16, 5-10) scored back-to-back home wins over San Francisco State (72-55) and Cal State-East Bay (78-65) last week. Rory Hetrick (Torrey Pines High School, Palomar College) scored 33 points in the two California Collegiate Athletic Association wins. Will Harris scored 16 on 4-for-6 3-point shooting as the Cougars men (4-17, 4-11) defeated Cal State East Bay 81-67 Saturday.
