PLNU LOOKING TO KEEP TAKING STEPS FORWARD IN 2024-25

(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women’s Basketball got a taste of the NCAA West Regional last season for the first time since 2016-17.

The Sea Lions are hoping that becomes the norm going forward.

“They just got a taste of an NCAA Tournament and what that feels like, the fun that goes with it and the excitement that surrounds the event,” Head Coach Charity Elliott said. “I want that to be the expectation and the standard for what we are working towards every year.”

Point Loma has improved its win total from the previous year in each of Elliott’s three seasons at the helm and has made three consecutive PacWest Tournament semifinal appearances.

PLNU is looking to continue that trend of improving its win total while taking an additional step forward this season.

“Any time you’re building and growing a program, you just want to keep taking steps,” Elliott said. “Last year, we hopefully just set a standard that we can hopefully continue to attain and go beyond that. It’s definitely been a process of building and growing, just trying to get better every day and every year.

“We’ve been able to do that and we’re certainly really excited about this year’s group. We’ll look different than we have in the past a little bit, but I’m really excited.”

As the team tries to hit the ground running at the beginning of the new season, Elliott highlighted the work her team put in this offseason.

“The talent has to be there, but to take those next steps it’s really about that competitiveness and did you put the work in in the offseason,” Elliott said. “We’re excited that we have a group that’s really put the work in, that wants to get back (to the regional) and just wants to be great, so they put the work in ahead of time.”

Part of that work included coming back to campus early ahead of a foreign tour to Costa Rica.

“I really think our Costa Rica trip just came at a perfect time because we had so many returners and so many new people, we were trying to make that blend happen,” Elliott said. “I’ve talked to many of our transfers and if we were just starting now, their roles would be so different than what they are now because we had that time already to get a lot of that work done.”

Not only did the trip benefit the team on the court, but it did so off the court as well.

“They just became a team and a family,” Elliott said. “Any time you do really impactful things together, whether it’s something as scary as the ziplining or as impactful as the orphanage visit, those emotions just create such connection and that’s what I saw more than anything.

“Yes, we played games and got to play together, but it was really the experiences outside of that. The clinic we did, the orphanage visit, the river rafting, pulling teammates out of the water, jumping off a cliff, it was really those things where everybody is a little bit nervous.

“Everybody was a little bit nervous walking into the orphanage, not knowing what we were going to see. We were hit right away with the reality that these kids have, that this is their home, and yet the joy they had and the impact they had on us was way greater than the impact we had on them. I’ve been on a few team trips and this one was probably the most impactful.”

The Sea Lions hope the work they put in before, during and after that trip, as well as the camaraderie developed on it, will help sustain them throughout the entirety of the upcoming season.

“Every year you start with high hopes and expectations and then you get into the realness,” Elliott said. “January hits and everybody’s tired. We talk a lot about not getting bored with the basics. You just can’t get bored with doing the work, doing the mundane. Staying through the January time and the January feeling I think is really what separates teams.”

ROSTER

Point Loma’s squad this year consists of eight returners and six new players.

“The returners are focused and the players that we’ve brought in also bring that hunger and drive and commitment to excellence,” Elliott said. “We’re blending the returners, who now understand an NCAA Tournament experience, with some really high achievers and grinders that want to win. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Senior guard Tavia Rowell, a First Team All-PacWest performer last season, is the most notable returner after leading the conference in scoring (15.2 ppg) a year ago.

“Tavia is always consistent,” Elliott said. “She’s been tremendous this year in every way. Every shot is a good shot for Tavia, but we’re asking her to do more things and to sometimes make the extra pass. It’s showing all of her strengths as well. She can do a lot more than just shoot the ball and I think we’re seeing a better, more well-rounded Tavia as a player.”

The team also returns Third Team All-PacWest honoree Eiley Tippins, who ranked third in the conference last season in blocks (1.5 bpg) and fifth in rebounding (6.7 rpg).

“Eiley has stepped into a leadership role, and she’s been our voice on and off the floor,” Elliott said. “She’s taken such huge strides in that capacity.”

PLNU brings back several other talented returners in senior forward Annika Thayer, junior guard Shayla O’Neil, junior forward Maddie Mersch, sophomore guard Hannah Golan and sophomore forward Elle Hanson.

“Annika comes with the experience of being a four-year player, understanding what we’re doing,” Elliott said. “Shay and Maddie Mersch, they bring experience as the juniors. Our two sophomores, Hannah who had a phenomenal freshman year stepping into the starting lineup, and Elle.

“It’s exciting because every one of those players could have a career night any night. I think there’s an opportunity for each of them to shine and do great things.” 

Of the six new players to the team, four are transfers – Kendyl Carson (Pepperdine), Alli McDonald (Sonoma State), Grace Moyers (Wyoming) and Kaylee Byon (Utah Valley).

“Kendyl Carson comes in with tremendous experience,” Elliott said. “She’s very smart, sees the floor really well and makes great decisions. She also is doing a tremendous job connecting and speaking into the young players, giving a lot of wisdom. I’ve really appreciated that.

“With Alli McDonald, I don’t think I had any clue the type of player and person that I was getting. She’s all that and more. Alli is growing in her game, becoming a really good passer. That maybe wasn’t her role in the past but she’s really enjoying other parts of the game that she’s excelling in.

“Grace is tough as nails and defensively is a nuisance. I would hate to have to dribble the ball against her down the floor, and then she can shoot the ball.

“Kaylee Byon is a very dynamic point guard and is a tremendous leader as well. She brings some flash, brings some pace. It’s been really fun to see those four transfers step in and find their own role.”

The Sea Lions also added freshmen Cassidy Bartolotto and Jocelyn Pascual. 

“Our freshmen, Cass and Joc, are both very high-level players,” Elliott said. “They’re going through the natural learning curve that all freshmen go through, but they are tough, they are smart, they compete, and they both are really talented. It’s going to be fun to see them grow, learn and mesh with everybody.”

With all the returning talent and infusion of new players, Elliott has plenty of options for her starting lineup and rotation.

“Some of it might be dependent on who we’re playing,” Elliott said. “Do we need more size? Do we need more speed? I think we can go big with big guards. We can go small and really fast. A lot of that is still to be determined. It’s really nice when I can sit here and say we’ve got eight and then moving into nine or 10 that can really give us some good minutes.”

SCHEDULE

Point Loma faces a tough non-conference schedule again this season, knowing fully the benefits of having a strong strength of schedule.

“There’s a new understanding of why we do this,” Elliott said. “They learned some valuable lessons of the reason we schedule the way that we do and the reason that literally every game matters. The early games really matter to get to the postseason.

“Last year, our win against San Marcos in the first game of the season probably got us in the regional. We have to be ready because if you win or lose, that can impact a possible at-large bid three months later.”

PLNU opens its season on Tuesday night with an exhibition at UNLV before playing its first two regular season contests on Nov. 8 and 9 against Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly Pomona at the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge in Azusa.

Point Loma will then travel to play at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Nov. 13 before hosting three consecutive home games – Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 15), Regis (Nov. 21) and Saint Martin’s (Nov. 23).

The team’s non-conference slate will conclude Nov. 29-30 in Burnaby, British Columbia with games against Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser.

“When you're scheduling with the end in mind, you schedule very differently,” Elliott said. “We're not scheduling to win 20 games, but rather we're scheduling to get to the regional.

“Anytime you can play really high-level teams, I think that's when you get exposed the most and that's when you really understand more what you need to get better at. All of these non-conference games are all going to challenge us and they're all going to expose us, which hopefully is how we get better down the road.”

Point Loma will then open its 20-game PacWest schedule on Dec. 5 at Dominican, the host of the PacWest Championships (March 6-8), as the team aims to improve on its third-place conference regular season finish last year.

“The assumption is we have to be ready every night because anybody in this conference can beat anybody,” Elliott said. “We’ve added some really good teams, which makes it fun and makes it challenging. You can't take anything for granted and you better show up every night.

“We need to take some lessons from our volleyball team right now of just how you stay the course and how you stay hungry, because every game can be the end of it.”

The Sea Lions will hope to once again play in the NCAA West Regional (March 14-17), with the Elite Eight to follow (March 24-28).

For the team’s full schedule, click HERE.