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2008 NCAA Division II Elite Eight
Semifinals (Mar. 27, 2008): Northern Kentucky Edges Seawolves 57-54
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| Kielpinski |
Cold shooting foiled Alaska Anchorage's bid to play for a national championship as the Seawolves fell to Northern Kentucky 57-54 in the NCAA Division II women's basketball national semifinal.
UAA's Maria Nilsson had a chance to send the game into overtime, but her long-range three-pointer with just three seconds left was a bit long as the Seawolves story-book season came to an end.
In just two seasons head coach Tim Moser has engineered an incredible turnaround in Seawolf women's basketball fortunes with a 53-11 mark, two Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout titles, two NCAA Championship appearances and now an NCAA national semifinal appearance.
Thanks in large measure to her perfect 12 for 12 free throw shooting, UAA center Rebecca Kielpinski finished with a game-high 16 points to go with six rebounds.
Ruby Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds and Kalhie Quinones 10 points and five rebounds. Dasha Basova came off the bench to add nine points, including two three-pointers.
Danyelle Echoles led four Northern Kentucky double-figure scorers with 13 points.
The nationally ninth-ranked Seawolves shot just 29 percent from the field (16-55). They did, however, connect on 91 percent (19-21) from the charity stripe. UAA won the rebounding battle 36-35 and committed just 13 turnovers to 19 for the Norse.
After trailing by as many as nine points (45-36) with just 6:49 to go, UAA rallied to close to within two (54-52) at the 1:13 mark on a three-point play by Basova.
NKU's Jessie Slack and UAA's Quinones traded two free throws each to make it 56-54 with 48 seconds remaining.
Down by three at 57-54 after a Nicole Chiodi free throw with 20 seconds left, the Seawolves had two chances to send the game into overtime.
Quinones missed on a drive shot with nine seconds left, but the ball went out of bounds to the Seawolves. UAA inbounded the ball underneath their own basket, setting up the final three-point attempt by Nilsson.
Quarterfinals (Mar. 26, 2008): Kielpinski, Quinones Key OT Victory
Kielpinski had 28 points and 14 rebounds and also blocked five shots and Quinones contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Seawolves (30-4) reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.
Their performance overshadowed the 31-point, 18-rebound effort of the Ravens' Johannah Leedham, the 2008 NCAA II Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Year. Franklin Pierce, the winner of the Northeast region, finished its season at 27-6.
UAA outrebounded Franklin Pierce by a 50-36 margin getting 26 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
It was a battle of contrasting styles as the Seawolves looked to pound the ball inside on nearly every possession while the Ravens are more of a perimeter-oriented team that was more content to drive and kick.
Ruby Williams had nine points and Maria Nilsson scored six, all on free throws. Jennifer Salazar was credited with a game-high eight assists. Toby Martin was Franklin Pierce's only other double-figure scorer with 15 points.
The Seawolves forged a 30-25 halftime lead but saw that evaporate into thin air as Leeham scored the first seven points of the second half to help Franklin Pierce take a 32-30 lead in just 1:12.
The Ravens built that lead to game-high eight (54-46) with 7:24 to go. UAA, however, went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 54-54 on two Nilsson free throws at the 4:01 mark.
The lead see-sawed back and forth and the game was tied at 60-all on a Kielpinski layup with 34 seconds to go in regulation.
A turnover by the Ravens set up a last-chance drive by Quinones. However, her shot in the lane with three seconds left came up short and the game went into overtime.
Franklin Pierce went up 62-60 on a Jess McPherson layin with 4:28 to go in the extra period, but that would be the last field goal for the Ravens.
Quinones hit a layup at 3:55 to tie it at 62-62 and Nilsson hit two free throws at the 3:13 mark to put UAA up for good.
Despite missing four straight free throws in overtime, Kielpinski hit a layin at 1:35 to put UAA up 66-62.
Leedham hit three of four free throws over the next two possessions to bring the Ravens back to within one (66-65) at 1:06.
Salazar then made a terrific entry pass and Kielpinski a nifty move to her left to put UAA up 68-65 with 35 seconds left.
The Seawolves played great defense down the stretch and got the ball back after a Franklin Pierce miss with 20 seconds left.
Nilsson then iced the game with two free throws and Quinones made one of two free throws at the three second mark for the final margin.
2008 NCAA Division II Women's West Regional
Championship Game (Mar. 17, 2008): UAA Edges SPU To Win Regional Title
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|---|---|
Nilsson |
Quinones |
The Seawolves (29-4), who had lost twice to Seattle Pacific during the regular-season (58-55 at Seattle and 78-77 at Anchorage), now advance to their first ever Elite Eight beginning Wednesday, Mar. 26 in Kearney, Neb.
UAA, which is ranked ninth nationally, will play Franklin Pierce, N.H., the Northeast Regional champion in the quarterfinals. Franklin Pierce defeated Holy Names 88-71 in their regional championship game Monday.
Seattle Pacific, which trailed much of the second half after falling behind by five at halftime as UAA closed the half with a 13-3 run, took a 41-40 lead with 5:03 left on two free throw by Jackie Hollands.
Neither team, however, scored again until a layup by Ruby Williams gave UAA a 42-41 lead with 2:28 left.
The teams then traded missed three-pointers before a turnover gave UAA the ball back with 1:25 left. Nilsson then nailed a three-pointer to put UAA up 45-41.
Seattle Pacific closed back to within two on a layup by Beth Christensen with 59 seconds left and then had a chance to tie it with 22 seconds remaining but Libby Magnuson was only able to convert on one of two free throws.
Nilsson made one of two foul shots with 16 seconds left to give UAA a 46-44 lead and give SPU one more chance to tie the game.
But after a timeout, Chistensen's pass was intercepted by Nilsson and Kielpinski sank two clinching foul shots with 0.9 seconds left.
After another turnover on the inbounds pass, tournament MVP Kalhie Quinones hit a layup at the buzzer for the final six-point margin.
Quionones was the only player in double figures in the championship game as the team's two defenses dominated. She made six of 10 shots and finished with 14 points. Center Rebecca Kielpinski had nine points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
The Seawolves, who outrebounded Seattle Pacific 43-31 and held the Falcons to 30 percent shooting (15 of 50), also got eight points and seven rebounds from Williams. UAA made 20 of 51 shots (39.2 percent).
Megan Hoisington had a game-high nine points for Seattle Pacific. Christensen finished with eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Joining tournament MVP Quinones on the all-tournament team were Kielpinski, Christensen, SPU's Daesha Henderson and Michelle Osier of UC San Diego.
Semifinals (Mar. 15, 2008): UAA, SPU Reach Regional Finals
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| Harris | Henderson |
The nationally ninth-ranked Seawolves (28-4), the tournament's No. 3 seed, will play in Monday's 7 p.m. title game against second-ranked and top-seeded Seattle Pacific (29-0).
SPU qualified for its fourth regional title game in the past six years as sophomore guard Daesha Henderson came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points rallying the Falcons to a 76-67 win over defending regional champion UC San Diego.
Alaska Anchorage and Chico State were tied eight times before Harris jump-started UAA's game-winning run with a three-pointer at 7:03. The two teams then traded hoops, leaving UAA with a three-point lead at 47-44.
The Seawolves, however, then put it away running off 12 straight points, getting threes by Harris at 5:31 and 3:25, a basket by Ruby Williams at 4:11 and four foul shots, including two by Jennifer Salazar and two by Kalhie Quinones.
Harris finished the contest with 13 points, connecting on four of five shots including all three of her attempts from the arc. Eleven of her points came in the second half.
Quinones led UAA, which trailed 27-25 at halftime, with 21 points, including 12 in the opening half when she accounted for almost half of her team's offense. Williams finished with 12, 10 after the break.
Natasha Smith paced Chico with 21 points, 14 in the first 20 minutes. Renee Goldoff had 11. Jade Smith-Williams, Chico's No. 3 scorer (10.0) and top assist-maker (3.7) on the season, had just four points and sat out the final 16:33 after picking up her fifth personal with a technical foul.
That left the Wildcats, who were already playing without leading scorer Audriana Spencer (14.5) because of a season-ending injury sustained in the CCAA post-season tournament, a bit short of fire power and they managed just 20 points in the second half, making only eight of 25 shots.
For the game, Chico shot 37.8 percent against the Seawolves' nationally-ranked defense (7th in field goal percentage at 33.9 and third in scoring at 51.5) making 17 of 45.
UAA, meanwhile, made 23 of 53 shots (43.4 percent), finished with a 32-30 advantage on the backboards (Williams had seven) and had five fewer turnovers (15-20).
That enabled the Seawolves to win despite getting just four points and three rebounds from starting center Rebecca Kielpinski (12.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg), who played just 10 minutes in the second half before fouling out with 1:33 remaining.
Seattle Pacific 76, UC San Diego 67
Daesha Henderson picked just the right time to have a career-best performance.
The Seattle Pacific sophomore guard came off the bench to score 23 points as the Falcons ran their season-long win streak to 29 games.
Henderson, who had only scored in double figures nine previous times this season (and 10 in her career), connected on nine of 12 shots, including two of four three-pointers, as SPU overcame three 10-point deficits, the last (50-40) with 12:08 remaining.
Henderson, who matched her previous career high of 14 in just the second half alone, jump started the comeback, connecting on a three with 11:25 left to pull SPU within five at 50-45.
Later after the Falcons had fallen behind again by seven (54-47), she scored five points – two free throws and a three-pointer – in a 39 second span to cut their deficit to two (54-52) with 7:45 remaining.
SPU pulled even at 54-54 with 7:14 left on a layup by Melissa Reich, then grabbed the lead for good on a free throw by Reich with 6:26 left.
Libby Magnuson then provided some cushion with a three-pointer to make it 58-54 and UC San Diego never got closer than three the rest of the way.
The Falcons, protecting a five-point lead (67-62) with two minutes left, scored six straight points, the first two by Henderson, to open up a double-digit lead at 73-62 inside the final minute.
In addition to Henderson's 23 points, SPU also got 13 points from Jackie Hollands, 12 from Magnuson and 10 from Kelsey Hill. Jessie Christensen had nine rebounds as the Falcons controlled the backboards 38-32.
Michelle Osier and Meaghan Noud led UC San Diego (25-10), the defending regional champions with 18 points each, while Erin Noonan had 14 and Alexis Gaskin contributed 10.
Noonan scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half and Osier had 10 as the Tritons built a 35-29 lead at the break. Osier also finished with 12 rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists.
Magnuson had four steals for SPU, which will be seeking its third regional title in the past five years Monday, as it swiped the ball 13 times forcing UCSD into 18 turnovers. The Falcons coughed up the basketball only a dozen times.
Quarterfinals: SPU, UAA Advances To Semifinals
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|---|---|---|
| Kielpinski | Williams | Hollands |
Earlier in the day, center Rebecca Kielpinski and forward Ruby Williams led a balanced attack as third-seeded Alaska Anchorage eliminated No. 6 Sonoma State 70-53 in the opening game of the tournament.
In Friday's other games, second-seeded Chico State bumped Northwest Nazarene 65-56 and fourth-seeded UC San Diego outscored Cal State San Bernardino 59-46 as the first day went according to form.
Hollands led a three-point explosion by the Falcons, which stayed unbeaten in 28 contests.
SPU, which made just five of 19 treys last Saturday in an eight-point win over the Saints to close out the regular-season, connected on 12 of 24 from the arc. Hollands was just one of six from the three-point line in the previous game.
University of Arizona transfer Kelsey Burns also contributed on the outside, making four of six treys and finishing with 14 points. Meanwhile, Kelsey Hills was an inside force for SPU converting on seven of 10 shots. She had 17 points.
Saint Martin's, which finished its season at 17-11, was led by freshman Dara Zack with 14 points. Jamey Gelhar had 12 points and Sade Smith, the GNAC's top female basketball student-athlete with a 3.94 GPA, contributed 11 points.
Seattle Pacific, which outshot the Saints 49.1 percent (28-57) to 29.4 (15-51), never trailed in the contest after jumping to a 9-0 lead.
The Falcons, though, may have given their fans a few anxious moments late in the first half when SMU cut a 14-point deficit (28-14) to six (32-26) on a pair of free throws by Smith with 1:20 left.
But, SPU then scored the final six points of the half. The Falcons removed all doubt of the outcome going on a 23-3 run to start the second half to build a 31-point lead at 60-29.
Alaska Anchorage 70, Sonoma State 53
Kielpinski and Williams led a balanced attack with 16 points each as third-seeded Alaska Anchorage eliminated No. 6 Sonoma State.
Alaska Anchorage (27-4), which is ranked ninth nationally, got off to a slow shooting start making only two of its first 10 shots, but still never trailed by more than four points.
Sonoma State's biggest lead was 13-9 with 12:43 left following a jumper by Genny Anderson and the CCAA team still led by three at 21-18 with 6:23 remaining in the opening half.
Alaska Anchorage, however, then ran off eight straight points – getting baskets by Kielpinski, Ashley Thompson, Lillie Parks and Williams - to take the lead for good.
UAA led by six at halftime (30-24), and then began the second half with a 13-4 run to go up by 15 with 16:30 remaining. Sonoma never got within single digits again falling behind twice by as many as 22, including the last time at 68-46 with 5:22 remaining.
Kielpinski, who recorded her 40th career double-double extending her own GNAC record, had nine of her 16 points and seven of her 11 rebounds after the intermission. Williams finished with 16 points and nine rebounds after a 10-point, seven-rebound first half.
UAA also got 15 points each from Maria Nilsson and Kalhie Quinones. All of Nilsson's points came from the three-point line where she made five of eight. Her teammates, however, drew a blank missing all 13 of their three-shot attempts. Quinones, who had six rebounds, was seven of 11 from the floor.
Sonoma State (20-10) had two players in double figures, including Anderson with 11 points and reserve Danae Wellander with 10. Anderson took just three shots and was held scoreless after halftime.
Alaska Anchorage dominated the backboards outrebounding Sonoma 48-26, including a 20-8 advantage on the offensive glass. UAA used its domination inside to take 17 more shots, making nine more (29 of 66 compared to 20 of 49 for Sonoma).
Chico State 65, Northwest Nazarene 56
Renee Goldoff made six of six foul shots in the final 70 seconds as CCAA champion Chico State held off a late charge by Northwest Nazarene to defeat the Crusaders.
The second-seeded Wildcats improved to 28-5 with their ninth straight win. They've won 15 of their last 16.
Chico State, which survived a 6 minute, 57 second scoring drought in the first half, led by just three points at halftime (33-30), but then opened up a 57-44 lead with 6:47 left and still led by 14 (59-45) with 6:01 remaining following a layup by Amanda Monteith.
NNU, however, got back-to-back three-pointers by Lindsay Brady at 5:04 and 3:01, a two-pointer from Brady with 2:30 left and a free throw from Janee Olds with 2:02 remaining to cut Chico's lead to five.
But, that was the closest the Crusaders got as Goldoff put the game way with six free throws. Her steal with 29 seconds remaining set up the clinching foul shots.
Jade Smith-Williams led Chico State, which played without leading scorer Audriana Spencer (14.5 points per game), with 16 points. Spencer was injured in last week's CCAA playoffs.
The Wildcats also got 13 points from Goldoff, who made nine of 10 foul shots, and 10 points from Montieth. Three players – Jennifer Williams, Brady and Kristin Hein – all had 12 for the Crusaders, who finished their season with a 19-9 record.
In the first half, NNU scored the first four points, but Chico then went on a 20-8 run to go ahead 20-12 with 12:12 left. But, the Wildcats didn't score again until Goldoff ended a 9-0 NNU run on a jumper with 5:15 remaining in the half.
Northwest Nazarene got a free throw by Brittney Roggenkamp to tie the game at 22-22, but Melissa Richardson's three-pointer with 4:30 left in the half put the Wildcats ahead to stay.
Nichole Schutte had nine rebounds for Northwest Nazarene which outrebounded Chico 38-28, however the Wildcats had 12 steals and finished with 11 fewer turnovers (16-27) to earn the victory.
UC San Diego got big scoring first halves from forwards Meaghan Noud and Michelle Osier and a solid defensive effort, especially in the second period, in defeating Cal State San Bernardino.
The Tritons (25-9) held the Coyotes to just seven field goals in 29 attempts in the second half in pulling away from a 35-30 halftime lead and posting a 13-point victory.
Noud finished with 23 points, after going for 17 in the opening 20 minutes, while Osier posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She had 12 points and five rebounds at the break. Both players also led the defensive effort with three steals apiece. Osier also had a block.
Center Alexis Gaskin joined her two teammates in double figures with 13 points. Gaskin also had nine rebounds as the Tritons controlled the backboards 39-34. Guard Alexis Mezzetta, who had 10 assists, also was credited with eight rebounds.
No Cal State San Bernardino player reached double figures as the Coyotes finished their season with a 21-8 record. Leslie Pickron came off the bench to hit three treys, all in the first half, and led CSUSB with nine points. Krystal Urzua had eight points.
UC San Diego, which also had four fewer turnovers (12-16) than their conference rivals, trailed 25-20 with 7:38 remaining in the first half, but then held CSUSB to five points the rest of the half. The Tritons had seven of the final nine points in the final 4:18 to break away from a 28-28 tie.
Early in the second half CSUSB pulled to within two at 37-35 on a three-pointer by Shanae Blake with 17:42 left, but only scored five points over the next nine minutes as the Tritons built a 48-40 lead.
After a jumper by Jatarra Pryor cut the deficit to six, UCSD scored the next six points and maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the way.
For the game, the Tritons held CSUSB to just 19 field goals in 48 attempts (32.8), while making 20 of 48 (41.7).
| Women's Basketball |  |