SAN DIEGO---First game jitters gave way to the jubilation of the Green Sea, as the Point Loma Sea Lions beat (NAIA) The Master's Mustangs 59-57 in an exhibition Thursday night inside of a bouncy Golden Gymnasium.

The vocal crowd was into the game from the tip and loudly supported the Sea Lions in their debut under Head Coach Charity Elliott.

"The fans, the Green Sea was amazing," Elliott said. "That was amazing, they made such a difference. It was a lot of fun for our team."

As could be expected, there were growing pains early on.

The Master's grabbed the early edge, shooting 50% through the first five minutes until freshman Annika Thayer entered and delivered baskets on her first two shots to give Point Loma a 9-8 edge.

Master's would respond with Giana Wimbish-Gay scoring early with 9 of the Mustang's first 16 points, putting The Master's in front 16-14.

Master's stretched their lead to as much as 13 midway through the 2^nd quarter.

Point Loma's 14 first half turnovers and 28% field goal percentage, but Cara Liggin's team high 9 points in the first half found the Sea Lions down 34-29 at the intermission.

"The second half was clearly much better." Elliott said. "We were really excited. We had so much energy. I was a little worried it might be a little ugly. But we responded and calmed down and got our nerves out."

Still, Point Loma held the edge over a much taller Master's team.

"I thought that was huge." Elliott said of the rebounding. "We limited them to one shot. Madi Williams is crashing the board, Annika was huge, our guards were crashing. Everyone was buying into it. They got one shot, we boxed out, we went the other way."

Thayer proved big in the second half as well, getting an offensive rebound and put back to give Point Loma a 39-38 lead and rejecting Master's attempted answer on the other end.

After Allie Carreon delivered a bucket, and getting fouled, a missed free-throw led to an offensive rebound by Madi Corder that setup Izzy Turk for a three-point play.

The Sea Lions held the lead until just under six minutes in regulation when Master's 10-0 run put Point Loma down 55-51.

Thayer loomed large down the stretch to help spur Point Loma back ahead.

After, consecutive buckets by Haylee Saurette tied the game at 55, Thayer's bank shot put Point Loma ahead.

Thayer delivered another rejection to protect the lead with just under a minute and a half, leading to fast break where Carreon was fouled at the other end.

After Carreon made both free throws, Master's hit a runner to pull back within one at 58-57.

Point Loma had the ball with 25 second and the shot clock turned off before Master's fouled to put Ellie Turk on the line.

Turk hit the first, before Master's rebounded the miss on the second free-throw and took a timeout. The Sea Lions led 59-57, closing the game out after a couple of missed free throws by The Master's.

Thayer's splashy debut finished as the Sea Lion's leader with 17 points while adding six rebounds. Liggins and Saurette finished with 11 points apiece, while Saurette added ten boards.

Ultimately, for Elliott, it was the comradery that was the most valuable piece of the night.

"We just started playing and sharing the basketball." Elliott said. "That's what I love about this team. When you looked at our bench tonight, everybody was going crazy. Whatever was happening on the floor, people were engaged and they were celebrating."

The Sea Lions will open up the season, officially, when they host the PacWest/CCAA Challenge on Friday, November 12^th and take on Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30pm.