Cal Baptist wins West with 77-64 win over SFU

Scoreboard

ANCHORAGE – Cal Baptist senior guards Kamille Diaz and Cassidy Mihalko combined for 51 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists Monday to lead their team to its second Elite Eight appearance in three seasons with a 77-64 victory over Simon Fraser in the NCAA Div. II Women’s Basketball West Regional Championships title game at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The 2nd-seeded and nationally 3rd-ranked Lancers (34-2) also got 12 points from Erin Asher and 12 rebounds from fellow reserve Olivia Weber to help spark big runs at the end of each half. Diaz – the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player – finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Mihalko had 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, no turnovers and two steals.

The 5th-seeded Clan (26-8) were led by 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from reserve center Tayla Jackson, but the NCAA’s lone Canadian program was hurt by a 50-33 rebounding disadvantage and outscored 22-5 at the free throw line.

Coming off Saturday’s second-round upset of top-seeded Alaska Anchorage, Simon Fraser jumped to a 25-19 lead after the first quarter and earned its largest lead at 29-21 when Rachel Fradgley drained a short jumper. Diaz answered quickly with a three-pointer, however, and the Lancers would end the half on a 17-2 run, holding SFU scoreless for the final 5:56.

After SFU rallied again to even the score at 44-44 and 46-46 midway through the third quarter on clutch shots by Elisa Homer (14 pts) and Jackson, Cal Baptist took over with the deciding run, sparked by a tie-breaking layup from Asher and a Diaz-to-Mihalko feed for a three-pointer. Another Diaz Trey made it 63-52 with 6:19 left, and the Lancers led by double digits from there.

Diaz was joined in the all-tournament team by Mihalko and Simon Fraser senior point guard Ellen Kett, who had seven rebounds and four assists in Monday’s final.

Cal Baptist – the 2015 NCAA Div. II national runner-up – will meet another regional winner in the NCAA Elite Eight national quarterfinal round, Mar. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.

2017 NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships
All-Tournament Team
Taylor Peacocke, Western Washington
Autummn Williams, Alaska Anchorage
Ellen Kett, Simon Fraser
Cassidy Mihalko, Cal Baptist
Most Outstanding Player: Kamille Diaz, Cal Baptist