IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team battled valienty until the end, but ultimately fell to Point Loma Nazarene University 75-65.

Freshman guard Sierra Clark led all players with 23 points on 8-11 shooting, six of those coming from behind the three point line.  

Everything was falling for Clark, who knew she needed to step up with the absence of Jasmine Rachal. 

"I knew that I needed to come out aggressive and play the best I could tonight," said Clark.  My teammates continuously lift me up and have faith in me, which allows me to be confident and just go out there looking to attack and be aggressive.  Tonight I was able to get into a good flow just by being confident, and my teammates did a great job of finding me."

Head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan knew tonight would be a hard fought game.  Her team never backed down from the challenge.

"I think that what tonight showed is we are a fearless group of women," said Collins-Kiernan.  We are empowered and forward looking. We are unafraid of the unknown and incredibly resilient through mistakes."

Junior forward Kennedy Fulcher was the only other Eagle to join Clark in double figures, as she finished with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.  

Junior forward Michaela VanderKlugt did not let a rough shooting night affect her tenacity on the boards.  She finished with a game high 13 rebounds.

Collins-Kiernan was pleased with the play of her freshman and how they handled a lot of minutes against a highly quality opponent.  

"What it also shows is that we need to clean up our edges and execute in key moments," said Collins-Kiernan.  "Sierra played tonight exactly like I envisioned her career evolving. Sierra is crafty, skilled and she is getting mentally and physically tougher everyday with us.  My staff has done a phenomenal job developing her and encouraging her and no one hypes her like her teammates do."

Freshman guard Lainie James got her first career start and finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

"It was exciting but I knew that I was coming in to play a huge role with Jazzy being out," said James.  "I locked into the game plan and we fought hard to stay in it even through the adversities. It's a tough loss, but we will work harder to improve from our mistakes as a team and individually."

The Eagles are back on the road this next week as they travel north to take on two Northern California teams.  For a full schedule click here.