IRVINE, Calif. – For the second straight day, the Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team was within one possession of taking the lead in the fourth quarter against Point Loma Nazarene.

This time, the Eagles found a way to come out on top.

No. 25 CUI bounced back from a close loss on Friday to dispatch Point Loma in the Saturday rematch, 72-69.

Recently named PacWest Player of the Week Michaela VanderKlugt drained the game-winning three-pointer with less than 25 seconds remaining off a pass from Katie Timmerman.  Then on the defensive end, VanderKlugt came up with a game-saving block and sank two clutch free throws to lock down the victory.

VIDEO: CLICK HERE to see VanderKlugt's go-ahead three-pointer against Point Loma

VanderKlugt has scored more than 1,400 points in her career, but that three-pointer was one of the biggest shots of her college career because of the timing and the opponent.

"I live for moments like that," said VanderKlugt, who finished with 27 points and eight rebounds. "Every day in practice, Coach Collins emphasizes taking every rep as if it was game speed. That's what I did. I was prepared to take that shot and I had no doubt it was going in. But it was a team effort for the shot to be made possible with Katie coming off the screen, having our shooters in the corner to spread the defense and perfect timing made it all possible."
 
"Playing Point Loma has always been a battle and the game usually always comes down to the final possessions and today our Eagles executed in the final possessions on offense and defense to get the W," said CUI head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan. "It was a back-to-back physical two days and their ability to correct and adjust key skills from Friday to Saturday says a lot about them.

Concordia fell behind early but rallied with a strong second quarter to take a 34-32 halftime lead.

Senior Kennedy Fulcher collected 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Katie Timmerman also chipped in with 12 points and 4 assists.

Sierra Clark added 7 points and 4 assists. Fellow sophomore Tori Guzman played a career-high 11 minutes and sank two timely treys for a career-best six points.

"I think it was a huge boost for us to bounce back," added Guzman. "We knew what we had to change as a team from the previous game and we did exactly what we talked about and came out with a big and much needed win."

"I am happy for the kids who stepped into their moments and equally happy with the energy and enthusiasm of the bench," added Collins-Kiernan. "This Southern California Pod will be brutal all year but we will be better from all the crazy good competition."
 
VanderKlugt now has racked up 1,456 career points and needs just 12 more to pass Nicole Fu (1,467) for sole possession of sixth place on CUI's all-time scoring list. But more importantly, after seeing a close game slip away in San Diego the day before against the same opponent, she was encouraged at how the team was able to bounce back in the rematch.
 
"It felt great to get a win tonight," said VanderKlugt. "We made mistakes (Friday) that were all under our control. So having the maturity to bounce back in 24 hours is real growth. We fixed those mistakes and it showed with the solid team win. 

In a recently announced schedule change, Concordia will host Azusa Pacific this coming Friday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. with the men's teams facing off at 5 p.m. that day.  APU will now host the Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 30 with the same planned start times.
 
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