Charity Elliott led PLNU Women's Basketball to its first ever PacWest regular season and tournament championships in 2024-25, with Point Loma setting a new single-season NCAA-era program record for wins (25).
In each of her four seasons at the helm, she has increased the team's win totals from the previous year and has led the team to at least the PacWest Tournament semifinals.
In 2023-24, she coached the Sea Lions to their first NCAA West Regional berth since 2016-17, before leading the team to back-to-back regional appearances for the first time in program history in 2024-25.
In her first season as head coach in 2021-22, Coach Elliott led the Sea Lions to the PacWest Tournament, winning a crucial first round game against a talented Dominican team. Elliott celebrated several major accomplishments that year, surpassing 300 career wins, as well as being inducted into the Fair Grove High School Hall of Fame.
Then in 2022-23, Elliott led Point Loma to the PacWest Tournament semifinals yet again and improved the team's win total from the previous year.
Elliott was named the new head coach of the Point Loma women's basketball program in May 2021 after spending the previous nine seasons as the head coach at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, leading the team to the WNIT, the team’s first postseason appearance in 15 years. Her time was highlighted by wins over Oregon State, BYU, UCLA and Arizona.
Prior to her move to NCAA Division I, Elliott had a very successful run at UC San Diego (NCAA DII) where she led the Tritons to a 127-34 record over five years and to the No. 1 ranking in the country (2011-12). She was voted the West Region Coach of the Year in 2011-12 and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors.
During her five seasons at UCSD, Elliott compiled a .789 winning percentage and won over 20 games each season, including posting a 30-3 record in 2011-12. The Tritons made the NCAA West Regional in four of her five years and hosted the regional in her final season. She led UC San Diego to three CCAA Conference titles and was a three-time CCAA Coach of the Year. Elliott also guided Michelle Osier and Chelsea Carlisle to CCAA and West Region Player of the Year honors.
In addition to her stints at UCSD and LMU, Elliott has also been the head coach at Portland State (2004-07) and Cal Baptist (2000-03), and an assistant at the University of Arkansas (2003-04), Southwest Baptist (1996-99), Missouri State (1994-96) and San Diego State (1993-94). Elliott began her playing career at Rice University where she scored 16.0 points per game as a sophomore. She then transferred to Missouri State and helped lead the Bears to a 31-3 record on their historic run to the Final Four in 1992. Missouri State went 57-8 during her two seasons. Following her senior season, Elliott was named the SMSU Woman of the Year.
