Saturday's 6:00 PM match-up of PLNU vs. TNU should be a good one. The Sea Lions are ranked No. 17 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll while Trevecca Nazarene, from Nashville, Tenn., sits at number 14. The Trojans are picked to finish third in the tough TranSouth Athletic Conference. Trevecca is led by two preseason all-conference selections in senior K.C. Van Atta and London Elie.
The Trojans are 1-2, having lost against Mount Vernon Nazarene (69-65) and Georgetown (KY) (73-53), both unranked squads. TNU's win was against Avila (72- 55).
Point Loma has quite a number of new faces from last year. Gone are All-Americans Colleen Planeta and Liah Ector as well as starters Amanda Franz and PJ Hanson. The Sea Lions are without a senior on their roster, though the team brought in a large class of recruits which features eight new players (five Juco transfers and three freshmen).
PLNU will lean heavily on a pair of returning juniors: Brianna Colon and Kaitlyn Trotter, to pick up the slack left by Planeta and Ector and to lead the newcomers by example.
Head coach Bill Westphal is just three wins away from 500 for his career. He has a 257-109 mark leading the PLNU women and has rolled off eight consecutive seasons of 20 or more wins. The Sea Lions have qualified for the NAIA National Championships each year during that stretch.
Point Loma is 1-1 entering tonight, winning 56-42 at MidAmerica Nazarene and before losing 64-62 to the Science and Arts. The Sea Lions were picked to finish fourth in the Golden State Athletic Conference, behind No. 2-ranked Azusa Pacific, fifth-ranked Vanguard and No. 13 Biola.
The Trojans were victorious in the prior two meetings with PLNU, winning 66-65 back in 2002 and 72-61 in 1999.
If you can't be in Golden Gym, you can still watch the game live on America One Networks
