UAA Athletics

A look at the teams in the West Region women's basketball tournament

NCAA Division II West Region championships
Alaska Airlines Center

Friday's games
(Seeding in parenthesis)

Noon — (6) Cal State East Bay (22-8) vs. (3) Western Washington (25-5)
2:30 p.m. — (7) Point Loma (24-5) vs. (2) California Baptist (31-2)
5 p.m. — (5) Simon Fraser (24-7) vs. (4) UC San Diego (23-6)
7:30 p.m. — (8) Hawaii Pacific (21-6) vs. (1) UAA (29-1)

Saturday's semifinals

5 p.m. — East Bay/WWU winner vs. Point Loma/Cal Baptist winner
7:30 p.m. — UAA/Hawaii Pacific winner vs. Simon Fraser/San Diego winner

Monday's championship

7:30 p.m. — winners of semifinals

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Team capsules

UAA (29-1) — The top-seeded Seawolves are the defending West Region champions whose tournament run last season ended with a loss in the national championship game. They own a 25-game winning streak and haven't lost to an NCAA Division II team all season. UAA led Division II in steals the last three seasons and lead the category again this season with 15.8 steals per game. Senior forward Autummn Williams, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, averages 21.6 points a game, and Kiki Robertson, the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, averages 8.8 points, 5.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.

California Baptist (31-1) — The second-seeded Lancers are the PacWest Conference regular season and tournament champions and they are riding a 28-game winning streak that includes three wins against first-round opponent Point Loma. Cal Baptist won the West Region the last time the tournament came to Anchorage in 2015, when it went on to finish second in the nation. Six players from that team remain, including PacWest Player of the Year Cassidy Mihalko, who averages 19.9 points per game.

Western Washington (25-5) — The third-seeded Vikings, in the tournament for the first time since 2014, boast the nation's leading scorer in GNAC Player of the Year Taylor Peacocke, a senior guard who averages 23.4 points per game. Peacocke, Tia Briggs (13.0 points per game) and Kiana Gandy (12.5 points per game) have combined to score two-thirds (65.7 percent) of Western Washington's points this season. Three of WWU's five losses this season were to the Seawolves.

UC San Diego (23-6) — The fourth-seeded Tritons won their final three games to return to the region tournament — last year, they lost to UAA in the championship game. Guard Beth Mounier averages a team-best 12.9 points per game, and five others average 8 points or better. The Tritons won the regular-season title in the California Collegiate Athletic Association but lost to UC East Bay in the tournament championship game.

Simon Fraser (24-7) — The fifth-seeded Clan started the seasons as one of the hottest teams in the West Region with a 20-3 record but they are 4-4 in their last eight games. Simon Fraser boasts the Division II assists leader in Ellen Kett, who has recorded a GNAC-record 241 assists this season — 38 more than anyone else. Kett averages 12.4 points and 7.7 assists.

Cal State East Bay (22-8) — The sixth-seeded Pioneers started the season 5-6 but have gone 17-2 since, beating UC San Diego in the championship game of the CCAA tournament to cement their spot in the West Region tournament. East Bay is led by CCAA Player of the Year Shomari Harris, a senior guard who averages 16.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Morgan Green, a freshman forward, averages 10.2 rebounds.

Point Loma (24-5) — The last time the Sea Lions came to Anchorage, they were the eighth-seeded team and they ended a dream season for UAA by knocking off the top-seeded Seawolves in the first round of the tournament. This time, the Sea Lions are seeded seventh and will face second-seeded Cal Baptist, team it has lost to three times this season. Roya Rustamzada, a junior forward who averages 13.6 points and 9.0 rebounds, has 14 double-doubles this season.

Hawaii Pacific (21-6) — The eighth-seeded Sharks feature a deep, balanced lineup that includes six Division I transfers and one Alaskan — Aminata Cole of Dimond, who averages 4.9 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Hawaii Pacific's losses include two to Cal Baptist and two to Point Loma. The Sharks are led by junior guard Breanna Mackenzie (12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds), senior guard VeAnne Navarro (10.8 points) and sophomore forward Ella Fotu, who has 27 blocks in 27 games.

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