SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- What was supposed to be an intriguing match-up between a pair of top 10 teams was anything but that as the NAIA’s No. 6-ranked Point Loma Nazarene closed the first half with a 21-6 run then turned on autopilot to surprisingly cruise to a 76-43 win over No. 10 Azusa Pacific Thursday in San Diego.

Point Loma, which picked up its fifth straight win and 11th in the past 12 games, improves to 24-3 overall, 13-3 GSAC. Azusa Pacific, which is 3-3 in its past 6, falls to 20-8, 12-5.

NAIA All-American and GSAC Player of the Week Jessica Mercado scored a game-high 19 points as 4 Sea Lions reached double figures.

But the story of the night was the relentless pressure of the Sea Lion defense. The Sea Lions, who rank second in the GSAC in scoring defense (57.0 avg.), forced the Cougars into 29 turnovers and held them to just 15 made field goals and 25.4% (15-for-59) from the floor.

The Cougars, who rank second in the GSAC and eighth in the NAIA scoring nearly 79 points per contest, were held to 35 points below their season average.

The Cougars’ 43 points is the lowest point total since Nov. 28, 2002 when they scored 35 at Wayland Baptist (Texas).

Lindsay Rice led the Cougars with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Sarah Leathers hit a trio of 3-pointers, including 2 straight to bring the Cougars within 3 (17-14) with 9:49 to play in the first half. At that point though, the Cougars began to wilt under the Sea Lions’ pressure defense as they committed half of their 20 first-half giveaways during the Sea Lions’ half-ending run.

Ali Greenaway, Kristen Jenkins and Mercado hit consecutive buckets to push the Sea Lion lead up to 9 (23-14) in less than a minute and a half before Rice converted a jumper. Andrea Honer, who finished with just 6 points, then scored, but Rice answered again to cut the deficit back to 7 (25-18) with 6:44 to play.

After a Sea Lion miss, the Cougars’ ensuing possession summed up what turned out to be their night. The Cougars failed on 3 opportunities on one possession to cut the deficit to 5, misfiring off a pair of offensive rebounds, and the Sea Lions went on to take full advantage.

Over the next 5:18, the Cougars fell apart as they committed 6 turnovers and missed 5 shots while being held scoreless as the Sea Lions pushed the margin up to 18 (36-19) with an 11-0 spurt that was capped by a 3-point play by Mercado with 1:26 to play.

The Cougars got no closer than 16 when Rice scored on their opening possession of the second half, but the Sea Lions scored 9 straight, the last 4 from Mercado, to balloon their lead to 25 (47-22) just 3:20 into the second half. The lead grew to as many as 37 in the final minutes before the Cougars hit 4 free throws for the final margin.

Monica Somers finished with 11 points but was just 4-for-12 from the floor. Leathers finished with 10 points.