Sunday, March 9, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Half of the 2013-14 NCAA women’s basketball West Region playoff field is comprised of Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams, as four GNAC schools earned spots in the eight-team field announced by the NCAA Sunday evening.

Montana State Billings, which finished the regular season with a record of 23-7, received the No. 2 overall seed and will face No. 7 seed Academy of Art (23-7) in the first round of the West Region Playoffs. The Yellowjackets completed the home portion of their schedule with an unblemished mark of 15-0, before losing in the semifinals of the GNAC Championships on Friday.

Earning the No. 3 seed was Simon Fraser (19-9), and checking in at No. 6 was Western Washington (19-9). The two teams met in the title game of the GNAC tournament on Saturday evening, with WWU prevailing in a come-from-behind 78-74 win to earn the automatic berth. WWU and SFU will square off again in a rematch of Saturday's title game.

The meeting will be the fourth of the season between SFU and WWU, and the Clan took the first game before WWU closed the regular season with a win and clinched a postseason berth with Saturday’s victory.

WWU went on to win the 2012-13 West Regional Championship and advanced to the Final Four a season ago. 

Earning the eighth and final spot in the West Region playoffs was Alaska Anchorage (19-8), which will face No. 1 overall seed and host Cal Poly Pomona (22-6). UAA lost to Saint Martin’s in the first round of the 2013-14 GNAC Championships.

No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (20-9) and No. 5 seed Cal State Chico (18-9) will square off in first-round action as well.

Tournament play kicks off on Friday, March 14 with second-round action following on March 15. After an off-day Sunday, Regional Championships will be played on March 17.

Winners from the eight regions will square off in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Erie, Penn., at Erie Insurance Arena on March 25.

NCAA Division II West Regional (March 14-17 at Pomona):  Friday - #3 Simon Fraser (19-9) vs. #6 Western Washington (19-9), noon; #3 MSU Billings (23-7) vs. #7 Academy of Art (23-7), 2:30 p.m.; #4 CSU Dominguez Hills (20-9) vs. #5 Chico State (18-9), 5 p.m.; #1 Cal Poly Pomona (22-6) vs. #8 Alaska Anchorage (19-8), 7:30 p.m.  Saturday – Semifinals at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  Monday – Championship at 7 p.m.