OLATHE,  Kan. - Brianna Colon scored 19 points and Kaitlyn Trotter added 13 points as the NAIA No. 17-ranked Sea Lions opened the 2010-11 season with a 56-42 win at MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) Thursday night.

PLNU took the court Thursday night with three new starters and shot just 39 percent (22-57) from the field. But the Green and Gold played solid defense and benefited from MNU's off-night from three-point range. The Pioneers would made just 1-of-17 from beyond the arc. In all, MidAmerican ended up with a subpar 25 percent shooting average.

Colon began the game – and season – with a three to give PLNU a lead that they would never relinquish. Point Loma's advantage swelled to 11 points with nine minutes remaining in the half and would pushed to 12 (27-15) at the intermission.

“The team is coming together,” said Colon. “The more games we play, the better we will play. Our chemistry is growing and we are learning to play together; it's exciting.”

The second stanza ended up much more competitive but the visiting Sea Lions had the non-conference tilt well in hand the entire time. Newcomer Erin Andersen sank a triple at the 1:36 mark and Trotter put in a free throw at the 1:11 to extend the lead to a game-high 20 points.

MidAmerica Nazarene (1-1) scored six unanswered points over the remaining 71 seconds to cut the deficit to 14 at game's end.

“MidAmerica is a very scrappy team,” said PLNU coach Bill Westphal. “It's good to come out of the gate with success on the scoreboard. We are getting a little better every day.”

Crissa Jackson contributed nine points to the PLNU win with Kiley Berlinski adding five. Trotter pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.

The Pioneers were led by 13 points and nine rebounds from Kiley Herold, though she was good on just 4-of-14 attempts. CJ Wiesmann had 12 points and seven boards.

PLNU will play the University of Science & Art (OK) at the MidAmerica Nazarene Tip-Off Classic on Friday starting at 6:00 pm (CST).