(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Basketball has signed a pair of incoming freshmen ahead of the 2025-26 season, Head Coach
Charity Elliott announced.
The Sea Lions will welcome Payton Ratcliffe and Emma Sales to The Point beginning this fall.
"We are so excited to welcome Payton and Emma to the Sea Lions family," Elliott said. "They both have the potential to make an immediate impact here as freshman and they are perfect fits in our culture of hard work and team-first mentality.
"We knew exactly what we were looking for in this freshmen class and we believe we have found the exact players to fill those needs, both on the court and in the locker room. We are so excited to get them here to the Point and watch them excel as both students and athletes."
Ratcliffe is a two-time All-OSAA League selection at Wilsonville High School, where she also earned All-State Honorable Mention honors.
"We've been watching Payton for a while and knew she was 'the one' that we wanted for her position," Elliott said. "She is a strong and agile post player who has tremendous footwork in the post and is also able to stretch the floor a little bit with her shot. We knew we needed someone who can be a true back-to-the-basket post player, and she fits the mold perfectly.
"Plus, she's a great teammate and loves playing team basketball. She's going to have an exceptional career here at PLNU and we can't wait to get her here."
Sales is the all-time leading scorer at Olathe West HS, where she also holds several other school records including points in a single game (34), rebounds in a single game and rebounds in a season. She also earned All-Sunflower League honors four times and All-State recognition twice.
"Emma is from a legacy family here at Point Loma as both of her parents were student-athletes here, so she bleeds green and gold already," Elliott said. "As we began watching her play, we were convinced very quickly that she was the real deal and would be a great fit here in our program and at PLNU.
"She has great length as a guard/forward and is so versatile in her skillset. She can shoot the 3, post up a smaller guard or take someone off the dribble and we can't wait to watch her showcase her skills with this team."
Point Loma is coming off its first ever PacWest regular season and tournament titles. The Sea Lions' 25-6 overall record last season was their best in the program's NCAA era.
"My greatest excitement about these two is the character and quality of them as individuals," Elliott said. "They are competitive and talented but most importantly, they are going to be great teammates and continue to elevate our program to the national level that we are striving for."
