In what can only be described as the biggest come-back in La Sierra
Women's basketball history, the Golden Eagles, lead by Freshman Natalia
Hawthorne's 29 points, overcame a 16 point half-time deficit, to beat PUC by a
score of 77-63. The Golden Eagles come out of the halftime break with fire and
energy that overwhelmed the visiting Pioneers.
La Sierra went on runs of 10 and
14 points to erase the once substantial lead. La Sierra was lead by Natalia
Hawthorne and her 29 points, including 10-10 from the free throw line. The
golden eagles also had 3 other players in double figures as well.
Stephaine Bryant and Ashley Baumgaertel each had 11 points, and Vicky Lowe
added 10 of the bench. Not to be outdone, Junior point guard Melissa Bustamonte
added 11 rebounds and 3 assist. "It was a tale of two halves" says
Head Coach Eric Thorson. " we played very poorly the entire first half,
but to the credit of this young team, they never stopped believing they could
turn it around and win the game" said Coach Thorson.
With the win last
night, the Women are on a modest 2- game winning streak for the first time in
recent history. " We are building a foundation for a very good program
here at La Sierra" says Thorson. " I'm very happy with our second
half performance, I believe we are beginning to find our identity". The
Golden Eagles travel to Biola to face the 12th ranked Eagles today at 5:30.
" It was a great win, in front of our home crowd, with a number of
recruits in attendance, but we have no time to celebrate, as we have our hands
full with Biola in less than 24 hours" says the Head Coach. " But we
will savor this night for a few hours"