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With a dismal past stacked against them, the UAA women's basketball team went into Monday's NCAA Division II West Regional championship as the heavy underdog.Playing against top-seeded Seattle Pacific before a hostile crowd at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle, third-seeded UAA had only one victory in 17 all-time appearances on the Falcons' home court -- and had lost its last eight.Seattle Pacific -- ranked No. 2 in the nation -- also came into the game undefeated with 29 straight victories.But the No. 9-ranked Seawolves got the job done, beating their conference rival 50-44 before an announced crowd of 1,470 to advance into the Elite Eight for the first time in school history."The kids did great," UAA head coach Tim Moser said. "That was a big-time victory against a big-time program."The Seawolves (29-4), who had lost twice to Seattle Pacific during the regular-season (58-55 at Seattle and 78-77 at Anchorage), advance to face 18th-ranked Franklin Pierce, winner of the Northeast Region, on March 26 in Kearney, Neb.The Seawolves clung to a 42-41 lead late in the second half when UAA senior Maria Nilsson nailed a key 3-pointer with 1:10 left, then had a game-clinching steal with seven seconds remaining.With 16 seconds left and a trip to the Elite Eight on the line, the 6-foot Swede sank one of two foul shots to give UAA a two-point lead. The Falcons had one more chance to tie, but Nilsson intercepted the ball. She dished to junior Rebecca Kielpinski who was fouled and sent to the line with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation.The 6-foot-2 GNAC co-player of the year sank both to pull UAA ahead 48-44. Seattle Pacific's Libby Magnuson turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and Kalhie Quinones converted a quick layup to seal the six-point win and send UAA's bench into hoops hysteria."I want them to enjoy this victory," Moser said. "We have a chance to play for a national championship -- that's what this thing is all about."Kielpinski was a beast underneath the basket. She finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and was one point shy of a double-double.Her presence was a drastic turnaround from UAA's semifinal win over Chico State, when she finished with only four points and three rebounds."Becca has a lot to do with turning this program around," Moser said.As a team, UAA controlled the boards, outrebounding Seattle Pacific 43-31. Quinones led UAA in scoring with 14 points. Nilsson kept Seattle Pacific's sharp-shooter, Jackie Hollands, at bay. The GNAC co-player of the year finished 0 of 3 from the perimeter. Her only two points came from the free throw line.The Falcons shot a surprisingly low 30 percent (15 of 50), while UAA made 39.2 percent (20 of 51)."Both teams didn't shoot well," Moser said. "But we didn't want (Seattle Pacific) to run the score up to 70." Moser said UAA tried to keep Seattle Pacific from breaking down the Seawolves in transition.The Seawolves answered Moser's call, keeping Seattle Pacific in check the entire 40 minutes. UAA never allowed the Falcons to take control of the momentum."We controlled the tempo the entire game," Moser said.The Seawolves took control with 2:11 left in the first half with Lillie Parks' layup and held the lead the next 15 minutes, 30 seconds of basketball.UAA closed the half with a 13-3 run, just enough for Moser to believe the Seawolves could erase their past here."This was a tough place to win," Moser said.