Point Loma Nazarene University’s women’s basketball team walloped Menlo, 90-67, en route to two program firsts: a record-breaking 36 points scored in one quarter, and more importantly, its first PacWest regular season title.
PLNU was led by sixth-year guard Tavia Rowell and third-year forward Eiley Tippins in the Menlo drubbing on Feb. 27. Rowell finished with 17 points on 7-11 shooting, while Tippins notched 16 on a perfect 7-7, grabbing four rebounds and three steals in the process. 10 of her 16 came in the historic 36-point third quarter. In that quarter, the Sea Lions went 12-13 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line.
With 23 wins, the 2025 team has the most of any squad since Head Coach Charity Elliott took the helm in 2021. After the Menlo victory, they ensured a bye in the first round, guaranteeing a spot in the semifinals of the PacWest Championships.
Among a few significant leaps this year’s team has made, chief among them is a marked improvement on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, PLNU ranked eighth of eleven teams in the PacWest in average points allowed per game. This season, they’re second.
Third-year forward Maddie Mersch said the defensive focus has been ingrained into the players’ heads throughout the season by the coaching staff. It’s simple. Good defense leads to better offense.
“Our coach really emphasizes getting a stop; nothing comes if you don’t get a stop on defense,” Mersch said. “We’re also a huge transition team … if we get a stop, we can just kick it out and both of our guards are running, our posts are running, so that’s normally how we score most of our points; we go on runs like that.”
PLNU is allowing 58.4 points per game, down from the 63.5 mark of last season. The defensive shift didn’t immediately click, though, as they allowed an average of 70.8 points per game through the first five games of the season. Though they were averaging 72.8 points on the offensive side in that same span, Mersch said Elliott had a clear message for the team.
“In the beginning, we were scoring 75 points but we were allowing a ton of points on defense … our coach was like, ‘We’ll need to change that,’” Mersch said.
This year’s squad brought in three transfers, one of them being a third-year point guard from Utah Valley University, Kaylee Byon. Byon leads the PacWest in assists, with 148 overall and an average of 5.5 per game. Tippins said Byon’s been a key contributor to the success of the second-highest scoring offense in the PacWest.
“She has opened up opportunities on the offensive end because if you are open, she will find you and dish out a perfect pass,” Tippins said. “She is the best passer on our team, and I would argue the best in the entire conference.”
Another significant leap is in shooting percentage. The 2023-24 team shot 42.9% from the field. Meanwhile, this team is shooting 44% from the field. Their three-point percentage has jumped from 30.4% to 35.1%. 64 of the 162 three-pointers have been made by Rowell. Though those numbers may seem marginal, throughout an entire season, those increases are significant. Mersch said that’s a testament to the drive of this team, the willingness to put work in outside of designated practice hours.
“If you go into the gym at any time of the day outside of our practice times, you’re going to see a Point Loma player in there shooting,” Mersch said.
As PLNU wraps up their regular season, Elliott pointed to two distinguishing factors that make this team the best of the ones she’s coached in her tenure at the university.
“One, this team is deep and talented,” Elliott said in an email interview referring to the fact that many players can contribute on the court. “Two, this is a group of incredible ladies who are committed to being stars in their roles and to being the best teammates possible.”
The Sea Lions will play in the PacWest semifinals on Friday, March 7, against the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds at Dominican University in San Rafael, CA.
Jonathan Raditsas