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The Point Loma women's basketball team will open its 2013-14 season at the Seattle Pacific Classic on Nov. 15-16. The Sea Lions will tipoff their season on Friday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m. against Central Washington. They will then face the tournament hosts, Seattle Pacific, on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

PLNU returns 10 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team which went 14-13 (10-8 PacWest, eighth place) and reached the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) West Regional. The Sea Lions also very optimistic after the way they finished last season. They closed out the season by winning nine of their final 13 games which included an impressive sweep of all four Hawaii schools on the road.

Practice
The Point Loma team looks to build off the momentum of last season but head coach Bill Westphal knows the long term success of the season will come down to making this a complete team.  The Sea Lions have been back five days a week at practice since Oct. 15 as they try to get ready for the season opener.

"We are starting to understand what we want to do but there is still a big learning curve," said Westphal. "Each year when you have a new team we try to tailor how we are going to play to how the players play naturally. It has taken us a little bit to find out what we do naturally with this team. We are still looking for our identity on offense and on defense.

"It is going to take a few weeks to get that identity engrained in the team, and to get both the returners and the newcomers on the same page," Westphal continued. "I look at it as a long season and we will try to learn from every practice and every game."

Offensively
As coach Westphal mentioned, the PLNU women's basketball team will still be looking to establish its identity on offense heading into the tournament. The Sea Lions are expected to start four guards this weekend and most of their offense should come from the perimeter.

"We are trying to be an up-tempo team," Westphal explained. "We will not be post -riented but much more guard-oriented. We will be a drive-and-kick, pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop type of team because that is what fits our personnel best."

Defensively
That up-tempo style also looks to be coming to the defensive side of the ball. Assistant coach Alan Nakamura has instituted a pressure defense to best utilize the skills of the guard-based personnel on the floor.

"He leans towards down court pressure and once they cross half court we've been playing lots of pressure, switching man-to-man defense," said Westphal about Nakamura. "We may also review our zone from last year which was very effective with Abby and Andrea Campbell in the middle.

"Right now though I think the aggressive mentality of our guards will make man-to-man our best defense," Westphal added.

Returners
Point Loma returns 83 percent of its scoring from last season, including its top four scorers. PacWest preseason all-conference selection Callie Rhoads is back as the team's leading scorer. She averaged 14.4 points per game last year and led the PacWest with 2.5 3-pointers per game en route to being named second team All-PacWest. She is also joined in the backcourt by PacWest honorable mention Jessica Escorza (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg), point guard Savannah Erskine (9.6 ppg, 4.4 apg) and shooting guard Carlotta Kloppenburg (9.6 ppg, 93.2 ft%) all of whom started at least 22 games last year. Also back at the wing and guard positions is sophomore Jordan Ligons and Kiley Berlinski, who redshirted last season while recovering from an injury.

Abby Boorman, Erin Andersen and Joelle Herron all return as posts for coach Westphal's team. Boorman is the team's top returning rebounder (5.3 rpg) while Andersen (4.4 ppg) should again provide the Sea Lions with a spark off the bench. Herron returns to the squad after redshirting last season.

"I really like our returning group," said coach Westphal. "They like each other, they like me and they like basketball. It is a very self-motivated group. They practice extra, work hard and are always on time. The leadership of the returners is wonderful and should make for an enjoyable seasons."

Newcomers
To supplement his team this season coach Westphal added six newcomers. Anna Viettry was brought in as a point guard, while Madison West is expected to play on the wing. The other four additions, Sydney Tonack, Danica Aboujaoude, Jessica Johnson and Keji Kubari, are all expected to help PLNU in the post.

"The group is still learning to play college basketball but it is a talent group and we are excited for this class," noted Westphal.

Schedule
It will be a tough early season schedule for Point Loma as they do not have a regular season home contest until the ninth game of the season. PLNU will open at the Seattle Pacific Classic (Nov. 15-16) and then play in the Cal State LA Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 29-30). Those will be their only non-conference games prior to the PacWest season beginning on the road on Dec. 3 at Academy of Art.

Point Loma will host two exhibition contests between the start of the season and its first regular season home contest on Dec. 21 against Notre Dame de Namur. It will take on Vanguard on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and Concordia on Saturday, Nov. 23 as part of PLNU's homecoming festivities.

Summary
With the return of many experienced players and the momentum they built at the end of last year, coach Westphal and his staff are very excited for the opportunity for the PLNU women's basketball program to establish itself as one of the top programs in the PacWest both for this season and beyond.