Alaska Anchorage Title Run Ends In National Semifinals

Moser

The University of Alaska Anchorage's bid for the NCAA Division II Women's National title ended in a 57-54 loss to eventual champion Northern Kentucky in the national semifinals at Kearney, Neb.

Coach Tim Moser's squad finished their season with a 30-5 record setting a school single-season record for victories.

With the UAA men also qualifying for the national semifinals, Alaska Anchorage became just the second school in NCAA Division II history to qualify both of its teams for the Final Four in the same season. Central Missouri swept the national titles in 1984.

Click here for a review of the NCAA West Regional and Elite Eight games.

NCAA WOMEN'S DIVISION II ELITE EIGHT (Mar. 26-29 at Kearney, Neb.): Wednesday – Alaska Anchorage 71, Franklin Pierce 65; Northern Kentucky 78, Wingate 65; Delta 75, California (Penn.) 65; South Dakota 85, Washburn 80 (2ot). Thursday – Northern Kentucky 57, Alaska Anchorage 54; South Dakota 66, Delta State 58. Saturday – South Dakota vs. Northern Kentucky, 5 p.m. (ESPN2).

Kielpinski, Hollands Share Player-of-the-Year Honors

Alaska Anchorage center Rebecca Kielpinski has been voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Year for the second year in a row, but she will have to share the plaque this time with Seattle Pacific guard Jackie Hollands.

van Beek	Kielpinski	Hollands

Kielpinski, who ranks ninth in the conference in scoring (12.3) and first in rebounding (8.9), finished in a tie in the balloting for the award with Hollands each receiving 23 ballot points.

Kielpinski, who has 1,314 career points and 845 rebounds and is on pace to become the GNAC all-time leader in both categories sometime next season, also ranks second in the conference in blocks (1.83) and sixth in field goal percentage (53.0).

Hollands helped lead Seattle Pacific to a 27-0 record and to its fifth GNAC title in six years this winter. She currently ranks in the Top 10 in the GNAC in five different categories, including third in three-pointers (2.30), fourth in steals (2.48) fifth in scoring (13.6) and free throw percentage (84.2) and seventh in assists (3.00).

SPU third-year head coach Julie van Beek was selected the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year. Van Beek, who is a 1989 graduate of Northwest Nazarene University, has a 71-15 record in three seasons and is 233-134 overall in a dozen years as a collegiate head coach. Her team is ranked second nationally and will host the NCAA West Regional beginning Friday at Brougham Pavilion.

Two other players – Alaska Anchorage guard Kalhie Quinones and Western Washington guard Amanda Dunbar – also received special awards with nearly identical vote totals. Both players received six of 10 first-place votes in the balloting for GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year, respectively.

Quinones, a transfer from Utah State, ranks fourth in the GNAC in assists (3.87) and sixth in steals (2.23). She also has contributed 10 points per game helping the Seawolves to 26 wins in 30 games.

Dunbar ranks in the Top 10 in three categories in the GNAC – fourth in scoring (14.1), seventh in three-pointers (1.69) and eighth in free throw percentage (80.3).

Kielpinski and Hollands head up the first-team all-conference team which also includes Western Oregon guard Leada Berkey, Seattle Pacific guard Beth Christensen and Montana State Billings guard Alira Carpenter.

Kielpinski and Berkey are the only repeaters from last year. Hollands earned second team honors in 2006-07.

Four Named To CoSIDA Basketball Academic Teams

Four Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball players have been named to to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA College Division Academic All-District basketball teams.

Jake Linton of Saint Martin's was selected to the District VIII men's team, while Libby Magnuson of Seattle Pacific and Sade Smith of Saint Martin's were named to the District VIII women's team. Alira Carpenter of Montana State Billings was named to the District VII women's team's.

Linton, Magnuson and Smith were all second team selections, while Carpenter was voted to the third team.

The college-division teams are selected from NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA players throughout the western United States. The players are nominated and selected by members of CoSIDA.

To be eligible for nomination, a player must be a starter or important reserve with a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and of sophomore standing.

Men: Second Team - Jake Linton, Saint Martin's (Business Administration, Jr., 3.33, Lynnwood, WA). Women: Second Team - Libby Magnuson, Seattle Pacific (Visual Communication, Sr., 3.83, White Bear Lake, MN); Sade Smith, Saint Martin;s (Psychology, Sr., 3.94, Pullman, WA). Third Team - Alira Carpenter, MSU Billings (Chemistry/Biology, Jr., 3.56, Lewistown, MT).

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