INDIANAPOLIS (Mar. 10) – Despite a strong finish to the season and carrying a No. 8 regional ranking into conference-tournament weekend, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team was denied a bid to the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships, when the NCAA unveiled its national bracket Sunday night.

The Seawolves – who are 19-8 against NCAA Div. II competition – were passed over to make room for a Cal State Los Angeles club that carries a 17-12 Div. II mark as the No. 8 seed.

UAA finished No. 6 in the publicly available listing of the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and is No. 7 in the 'performance indicator' category used to advise the national committee on which teams should be chosen. Cal State LA finished No. 9 in the RPI and No. 9 in the performance indicator.

UAA finished third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 13-5 record, including three combined victories over top-4 seeds Western Washington and Montana State Billings, who just met in Saturday's GNAC title game. Cal State LA finished fourth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings with a 13-9 mark and went 4-6 against teams that made the NCAA West Regionals.

The Seawolves entered the final weekend one spot ahead of Cal State LA in the regional rankings, and both teams went 1-1 at their respective conference tournaments Thursday and Friday. UAA defeated Seattle Pacific and lost to Western Washington, while Cal State LA beat Cal State San Bernardino and lost to CCAA top seed Cal State San Marcos.