Sunday, March 8, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS – Packing their bags for Honolulu, three GNAC women’s basketball teams will advance to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship. Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington received their bids in Sunday’s selection show.

No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage earned the conference’s automatic berth into the West Region, hosted by Hawaii Pacific at the Shark Tank, after they defeated Western Washington, 89-68, in the final of the GNAC Championships on Saturday at Brougham Pavilion. First Team All-GNAC senior guard Safiyyah Yasin was named the tournament’s most valuable player after she scored 57 points in two games to lead the Seawolves to their sixth GNAC Championships title. The Seawolves earned the No. 2 seed in the West Region under Coach of the Year Ryan McCarthy.

The Seawolves are 31-2 overall (19-1 GNAC) and are riding a 13-game win streak. The conference regular-season and tournament champions will play the team that they just beat as the Seawolves will have a rematch with No. 7 seed Western Washington in the first round at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The victor will face the winner of the noon matchup between No. 6 Northwest Nazarene (22-7) and No. 3 UC San Diego (25-5).

Also on Friday, No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona will face top-seed and host Hawaii Pacific at 5 p.m. while No. 4 Cal State San Marcos will play No. 5 Azusa Pacific in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.

Alaska Anchorage is 3-0 against non-conference West Region opponents. The Seawolves beat Chaminade and San Francisco State at their own Seawolf Hoops Classic in November and then won at Hawaii Hilo on Dec. 22. The Seawolves won both meetings with No. 6 Northwest Nazarene and split with No. 7 Western Washington in the regular season before beating the Vikings in the tournament final.

The Vikings were the only conference team to beat the Seawolves this year, winning a 71-64 contest on Jan. 23 in Bellingham. The Vikings (22-9, 14-6 GNAC) returned to the final for the seventh time and the first time since 2017. It was also the fifth time that both the Western Washington men and women advanced to the title game in the same year.

The Vikings are 2-2 against non-conference regional opponents, which includes a 76-68 loss to No. 3 UC San Diego and a 77-73 loss at No. 5 Azusa Pacific at the West Region Crossover Classic in November. The Vikings split with both the Nighthawks and the Seawolves in the regular season before beating the Nighthawks in the GNAC quarterfinals.

The Nighthawks are 1-1 against non-conference regional opponents, losing to No. 1 Hawaii Pacific and beating Stanislaus State in November in Ellensburg. The Nighthawks fell to the Vikings in Friday’s semifinals.

NCAA DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL
at Shark Tank, Honolulu, Hawaii
All Times Hawaii Standard Time
Friday, March 13 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 6 Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 3 UC San Diego, Noon
Game 2: No. 7 Western Washington vs. No. 2 Alaska Anchorage, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona vs. No. 1 Hawaii Pacific, 5 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Azusa Pacific vs. No. 4 Cal State San Marcos, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 - Semifinals
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, March 17
Championship Game, 7 p.m.