Monday, March 18, 2019

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Hannah Wandersee led all scorers with 23 points and Tara Thompson hit a 30-foot three-pointer with three seconds left but Alaska Anchorage ultimately fell at the buzzer in Monday's NCAA Division II West Region title game against No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific. 

It was just another in a long line of memorable postseason games for the third-seeded Seawolves, ending their season with an overall record of 30-3 after the 65-63 loss at RIMAC Arena.

Wandersee connected on 10 of 19 from the field and made the only three-pointer she attempted as UAA shot 34.2 percent from the field. The Kodiak, Alaska native was named to the West Region All-Tournament Team after a terrific three-game stretch in La Jolla. Thompson bolstered the team's backcourt on Monday, dropping 12 points while also grabbing six rebounds. 

Freshman Lydia Nieto led the Cougars (28-5) with 15 points as she went 5 of 7 from three-point range.

Parlaying some of its momentum from a thrilling second-round victory over conference-rival Northwest Nazarene, Alaska Anchorage came out firing on all cylinders in this one. Three different players each made the first three field goals of the game to stake the team to an early 7-0 lead.

That advantage would be stretched all the way to 12 points on a jumper from senior Sydni Stallworth early in the second stanza. Azusa Pacific eventually settled in, however, overcoming the early deficit to take a 38-37 lead into the halftime break.

Each possession of the second half was filled with drama as each team looked to punch its ticket to the Elite Eight. 

The Seawolves trailed by as many as seven points at 59-52, but an 11-3 run gave the team a one-point lead with just three seconds remaining. The quick burst was punctuated by a ridiculously-long triple from Thompson that gave her team its first lead since the four-minute mark of the third quarter. 

Thompson's three was ultimately answered at the buzzer by Nieto, allowing APU to escape with the 65-63 victory.

With the win, the region's No. 4 seed advances to the NCAA Divison II Elite Eight next week in Columbus, Ohio.