POMONA, Calif. (March 10) - Tirzah Church led three Seawolves in double-figures with 15 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome rough second-half shooting as the UAA women's basketball team lost 78-59 to Western Washington in the NCAA West Regional semifinals at Kellogg Gymnasium tonight. UAA, the No. 3 seed, ended the season at 21-8, while Western Washington (25-3), the No. 2 seed, moves on to Saturday's regional final.
The 13th-ranked Vikings were led by senior Celeste Hill's game-high 23 points. Western Washington, the Pac West champion, beat the Seawolves, the Pac West runners-up, for the third time this season.
Church scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half as UAA jumped out to a 35-31 halftime advantage. But the Vikings held UAA to just 29 percent shooting in the second half, including 0-for-6 from three-point range.
Catherine Hale scored 14 for UAA on 4-of-7 shooting, while Julie Chambers chipped in with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
The 78 points were the most the Seawolves allowed all season. Meanwhile, UAA was hurt by foul trouble as Tiffany Massey, Church and Kellie Torrey all fouled out and Hale wound up with four fouls. The Vikings took advantage of their shots at the line, going 33-for-46 from the charity stripe.
The 21 victories were the most for the Lady Seawolves since the 1990-91 version went 21-7. UAA is now 2-5 overall in its five NCAA appearances. The only team to advance further into the tournament was the 1987-88 team that went to the West Regional Final (Sweet 16).
