There’s a lot of reason for optimism for the Concordia College Alabama men and women’s basketball programs as they make the almost 800 mile trip to Uniontown, Pa. this weekend for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association championship.

When the USCAA tournament field was announced earlier this week, both teams were feeling good about bringing championship trophies back to Selma.

Neither squad has lost since the calendar moved to 2015. The men haven’t lost since Dec. 19. The women aren’t just winning — they’re showing the world the defending champions mean business. The Lady Hornets have won 23 in a row, with 20 of those coming by double digits, and have been atop the USCAA coaches’ poll all season.

“I feel like we don’t have a lot of drama,” said forward Tykeria Johnson. “If things are going bad we really find ourselves, get back to the beginning and talk it out and keep playing.”

The Lady Hornets’ season started a bit rocky. They lost their first three games, with losses to Auburn University-Montgomery, Faulkner and Talladega College.

The Lady Hornets rebounded in a big way and have won their last 23 games by an average of 19.6 points.

“We had a difficult start but we came together,” Johnson said. “We could have easily kept playing bad and blaming each other for everything, but we came together.”

Last year, both Concordia teams entered the tournament as the last team in.

This year, the women know there’s a target on their back.

“I know it’s going to be harder this time trying to win it, but last year we didn’t have a bench that can help us,” said guard Erica Ousley. “This year, we have more people that can pull us up. They can come in if we are down and score for us.”

The men had to overcome a rough start too.

The Hornets were 3-7 after 10 games, but had won 16 in a row Tuesday when the field was announced with one game to go.

“The path that we’ve been on during this 16 game stretch has been incredible,” said Concordia men’s coach Fredrick Summers. “Those kids have been paying attention to detail and paying attention to the scouting report and going in and executing our game plan.”

The women will play St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn in their opening game Wednesday at 10 a.m. The Concordia men will play Florida National University at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The tournament runs through Saturday.