FRIDAY'S SCOREBOARD: Softball – Northwest Nazarene at Western Oregon, 1 p.m. Baseball– MSU Billings at Northwest Nazarene (2), 4 p.m. Track and Field - Eastern Oregon University Mini-Meet (NNU); Spokane CC Dusty Lane Open (CWU). (Click here for the latest polls and national stats).

Thursday, Mar. 18

Indoor Track: Pixler Wins Fourth Top Athlete Prize

Brown	Pixler

Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler (Sr., Sammamish, WA) has been voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Female Indoor Track-and-Field Athlete-of-the-Year for the fourth year in a row.

Last week she won her fourth straight indoor mile title (4:46.42) in the national meet at Albuquerque, N.M., and also anchored SPU's national championship distance medley relay team, which set a GNAC record with a time of 11:29.88.

Pixler also won titles in the 800 (2:08.28), mile (4:30.39) and distance medley relay (11:36.32) in earning Outstanding Performer honors in the conference meet.

Pixler, who holds the GNAC record in every running event between 800 and 5,000 meters, is an eight-time Indoor All-American and a six-time indoor national champion.

Ryan Brown of Western Washington was selected the GNAC Male Indoor Track-and-Field Athlete-of-the-Year. Brown (Jr., Bellingham, WA) won the national title in the pole vault with a mark of 16-11 and was also the GNAC champion with a vault of 16-1 ¼. He had a season-best of 17-1 ½.

Other award winners included Anthony Zackery of Western Washington and Ashley Potter, Mattson Hardie and Sarah Kathrein, all of Western Oregon.

Zackery (Jr., Spokane, WA) was selected the Outstanding Male Newcomer, while Potter (So,, Springfield, OR) was voted the Outstanding Female Newcomer.

Hardie (Fr., Bend, OR) and Kathrein (Fr., Boring, OR) earned the Male and Female Freshman-of-the-Year awards, respectively.

Mike Johnson and Karl Lerum, who guided Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific to GNAC team titles were voted the GNAC Male Team and Female Team Coaches-of-the-Year, respectively. It was Johnson's third straight Coach-of-the-Year award and Lerum's fourth in a row.

Zackery placed fourth in the long jump (22-9 ¼) and seventh in the 60 (7.08) at the conference meet to win his award, while Potter won the triple jump with a meet record leap of 38-10 ½.

Hardie was the Outstanding Male Performer in the conference meet winning the long jump with a meet and conference record mark of 23-8. He also placed second in the triple jump (47-4 ¼) and third in the high jump (6-2 ¾).

His season-best mark in the triple jump (47-11 ¾) ranks second in conference history. Kathrein placed second in the 200 (25.59) and third in the 400 (58.84) in the conference championships.

Johnson led Western Oregon to its third straight men's indoor title and its fourth overall. Johnson, a 1971 graduate of Eastern Washington, has now won a total of nine GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards also winning for men's indoor in 2004, 2008 and 2009, women's outdoor in 2004, 2005 and 2008 and men's outdoor in 2004 and 2008.

Lerum, a 1998 graduate of Pacific Lutheran, has won six GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards, also winning for women's indoor in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and women's outdoor in 2006 and 2007.

Lerum led Seattle Pacific to a seventh-place team finish in the national meet. SPU has now had five Top 10 national finishes since 2005, also placing sixth in 2009, seventh in 2007, eighth in 2005 and ninth in 2008. The conference title was the seventh in a row for the Falcons.

Men's Golf: MSUB Ties For First In Yellowjacket Invite

Montana State Billings and Rocky Mountain tied for first-place in the MSUB Yellowjacket Invitational Thursday at the Eaglerock Golf Course in Billings. Friday's second round was snowed out.

MSUB's Jeff Allen and Rocky's D.J. Kovach shot one-over-par 73s to share medalist honors.

MSUB Invitational (Mar. 18 at Eaglerock Golf Course, Billings, MT): Team Scores - Rocky Mountain 303, MSU Billings 303, Miles CC 332, Great Falls 352. Individuals (Par 72, 6,651 Yards) - 1. D.J. Kovach, RMC, and Jeff Allen, MSUB, 73; 4. Jacob Harr, MSUB, 75; 8. Kyle Armstrong, MSUB, 76; 13. Chris Richter, MSUB, amd *K.C. Kindle, MSUB, 79; 18. Travis Gates, MSUB, 81. *Compete as individual.

Wednesday, Mar. 17

Men's Basketball: Jackson Top Coach In West Region

Jackson

Brad Jackson of Western Washington and Greg Kamansky of Cal Poly Pomona have been voted the NABC Division II West Region Co-Coaches of the Year.

Kamansky led the Broncos to the NCAA West Region title Monday defeating BYU-Hawaii 78-75. CPP edged the Vikings 76-75 in overtime in Saturday's semifinal game.

Western Washington placed two players on the West Region all-star team. Guard Morris Anderson was a first team selection and forward Derrick Webb was voted to the second team.

Joining Anderson on the first team were Chris Banchero of Seattle Pacific and Blake Poole of Saint Martin's. Webb was the lone GNAC player named to the second team.

Anderson, Banchero and Poole were earlier named to the Daktronics first team selected by the region's sports information. Joining Webb on the Daktronics second team was Brandon Larrieu of Seattle Pacific.

NABC (Coaches): First Team: Chris Banchero, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-0, Jr., Seattle, WA); Morris Anderson, Western Washington (G, 6-3, Sr., Port Orchard, WA); Zac Tiedeman, Humboldt State (G, 6-1, Sr., Santa Rosa, CA); Austin Swift, Cal Poly Pomona (G, 6-5, Sr., Santa Cruz, CA); Blake Poole, Saint Martin's (F, 6-5, Jr., Eugene, OR); Bryan LeDuc, CSU San Bernardino (F, 6-8, Sr., Corona, CA). Second Team: Jordan Lawley, UC San Diego (G, 6-4, Sr. Lodi, CA); Lucas Alves, BYU-Hawaii (F, 6-9, Sr., Casa Branca, Brazil); Derrick Webb, Western Washington (F, 6-3, Sr., Port Orchard, WA); Tom Whitehead, Dixie State (F, 6-6, Jr., St. George, UT); Brian Morris, Humboldt State (F, 6-9, Jr., Portland, OR). Coaches-of-the-Year - Brad Jackson, WWU; Greg Kamansky, Cal Poly Pomona.

Indoor Track and Field: Pixler Selected Top Athlete

Jessica Pixler

Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific has been selected the USTFCCCA Female Track Athlete of the Year.

Pixler ended her indoor track-and-field career by winning her fourth straight NCAA Division II title in the mile last weekend. She also anchored SPU's winning distance medley relay team.

She finishing her indoor career winning six national titles – four in the mile (2007-10), one in the 5,000 (2009) and one in the distance medley relay (2010).

She now has a total eight All-American Indoor finishes including a third in the 800 in 2008. Counting indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country, she now has won 11 national titles and has a total of 15 All-American awards.

Earlier she was selected the West Region Track Athlete-of-the-Year leading the GNAC to a clean sweep of the regional awards. Anthony Tomsich of Western Washington won the same award for the men.

The USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year awards were won by Ryan Brown and Emily Warman of Western Washington. The men's and women's Region Coach-of-the-Year awards went to Mike Johnson of Western Oregon and Karl Lerum of Seattle Pacific.

The GNAC will announce its yearly awards Thursday.

USTFCCCA INDOOR TRACK ALL-REGION: Men: Track Athlete-of-the-Year – Anthony Tomsich, Western Washington. Field Athlete-of-the-Year – Ryan Brown, Western Washington. Coach-of-the-Year – Mike Johnson, Western Oregon. Women: Track Athlete-of-the-Year – Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific. Field Athlete-of-the-Year – Emily Warman, Western Washington. Coach-of-the-Year – Karl Lerum, Seattle Pacific.

Softball: Saints, Crusaders Split Pair Again

Amanda Arnzen and Nicole Grummons traded shutouts as Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader for the second day in a row Tuesday.

Arnzen tossed a three-hitter as the Saints (7-14, 6-10) won the five-inning opener 11-0. Grummons gave up seven hits as NNU (4-12, 4-12) earned a 3-0 victory in the nightcap.

The two teams not only ended up dividing the four-game series 2-2, but also split their eight-game season series 4-4.

Arnzen walked two and fanned three in her shutout while her teammates were banging out 11 hits and scoring 11 runs in the first three innings. Mergan Antonvich and Kristi Sigafoos each had two hits, while Joslyn Eugenio and Kirstin Davidson each had two RBI.

In the second game, Northwest Nazarene scored a run in the top of the first on a single by Sarah Varady, then got two runs in the seventh on a single by Emily Renfro and a fielder's choice.

Meanwhile, Grummons was scattering seven hits in pitching the shutout for the Crusaders. Grummons was also effective with the stick going three for three including a single to start NNU's two-run seventh.

Tuesday, Mar. 16

Softball: Saints, Crusaders Split Pair

Joslyn Eugenio's RBI double in the bottom of the eighth earned Saint Martin's (6-13, 5-9) a 3-2 win and a split of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference twinbill with Northwest Nazarene Tuesday at the SMU Softball Field.

The Crusaders (3-11, 3-11) won the opener 10-7 as Catherine Lowery,Sarah Varady and Cara Duckworth led a 15-hit attack with three safeties each.

Eugenio's game-winning hit came right after Kristine Kaneshiro had been hit by a pitch to start the inning. Each team had six hits in the contest. Eugenio, however, was the only player with more than one. She also had singled in the first.

SMU had a 2-0 lead until the sixth. NNU, however, got single runs in the sixth and seventh on hits by Varady and Haley Hevern to force the extra frame.

Both of those runs were unearned off of Saint pitcher Amanda Arnzen, who walked three and fanned six in recording the victory.

In the opener, Northwest Nazarene built a 7-0 lead only to see SMU close to within one run in the fifth at 8-7. The Saints, however, scored twice in the sixth to build a three-run cushion and NNU pitcher Chelsey Anderson held on for the win.

Baseball: Saints Nearly Beat LCSC Again, Lose In 10

Saint Martin's nearly pulled off a two-game series sweep of NAIA power Lewis-Clark State before falling 8-6 in 10 innings.

The Saints (7-12) were one out away from earning their second win in two days before Pat Murray doubled to drive in two runs in the top of the ninth and give LCSC (18-2) a 6-5 lead.

SMU was able to tie the game up in the bottom of the ninth on a single by Luke Abbott, his third hit of the game, LCSC, however, won the contest with a two-run home run by Jake Eccles in the top of the 10th.

Saint Martin's finished the contest with 13 hits, including three by Abbott and Travis Jones. The Warriors had 14 hits off six SMU pitchers.

Men's Golf: Crusaders Finish Fifth in LCSC Golf

Northwest Nazarene posted a second round of 305 to finish fifth at the Lewis-Clark State Invitational Tuesday afternoon at the Clarkston Golf & Country Club. 

Zach Grunig led the Crusaders with a 73 in the final round. In a tie for sixth after the opening round on Monday, the Crusaders counted scores of 77 from Rowdy Hope and Aaron VanDeHey, 78 from Jeff McDonald, and Grunig's 73 to move up one spot in the standings among the 11 teams. 

Also playing for the Crusaders were Leon Vasquez with an 85 and Tanner Roggenkamp with an 89.

University of Victoria won the team title with rounds of 295-295 for 590, while DJ Kovach from Rocky Mountain College won medalist honors with rounds of 68-75 for 143.

Lewis-Clark State Invitational (Oct. 15-16 at Clarkston Golf & CC): Team Scores – 1. Victoria 590 (295-295); 2. Spokane CC 596 (304-292) and Rocky Mountain 596 (288-308); 4. Lewis-Clark State 607 (304-303); 5. Northwest Nazarene 618 (313-305). Individuals (Par 72, 6,680 Yards) – 1. DJ Kovach, Rocky Mountain, 143 (68-75). 14. Rowdy Hope, NNU, 152 (75-77) and Zach Grunig, NNU, 152 (79-73); 28. Aaron VanDeHey, NNU, 157 (80-77); 34. Jeff McDonald, NNU, 158 (80-78); 56. Leon Vasquez, NNU, 174 (79-85); 62. *Tanner Roggenkamp, NNU, 173 (84-89). *Competed as individual.

Monday, Mar. 15

Women's Basketball: Falcons Headed To Elite Eight

Reich

Melissa Reich had 10 points and 11 rebounds Monday propelling 13th-ranked Seattle Pacific into the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with a 76-68 triumph over Chico State in the West Regional championship game at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (27-3), top seeded in the West Region, won their 14th consecutive game to earn a trip to St. Joseph's, Mo. for a quarterfinal contest with Central Region winner Fort Lewis (31-3) on Mar. 23.

The national semifinals are slated for Mar. 24 with the championship game set for Mar. 26.

SPU earned its fourth Elite Eight berth and its first under fifth-year coach Julie van Beek. The Falcons lost in the quarterfinal round in 1998 and 2004. They reached the NCAA championship game in 2005 before falling 70-53 to Washburn.

Reich, who also had a double-double in Friday's first round and now has four on the season, was named the MVP. She averaged 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 65 percent (15 of 23) during SPU's three tournament victories.

The 6-foot-2 center from Bellevue Christian High School grabbed eight of her boards in the first half helping the Falcons to a commanding 49-30 rebound advantage for the game. SPU capitalized on its dominance on the glass, netting 21 second-chance points to just 10 for Chico.

The Falcons led by as many as 16 points during the first half, going ahead 38-22 on a three-point play by Reich 2:34 before halftime.

Courtney Harrison nailed three three-pointers in the final 2:20 of the half to ignite an 11-2 closing surge that drew Chico within 40-33 at halftime.

The Wildcats continued that run after intermission, scoring seven straight points to tie the score 40-40.

Synchro Bull opened the half with a free throw, Pauline Ferrall hit consecutive baskets and Bull made a layup with 17:22 left to play to forge the game's first deadlock.

Caitlyn Rohrbach halted the rally with a jump hook at 16:25 and Megan Hoisington followed with a putback that put SPU ahead for good.

Midway through the half, the Falcons extended the margin back into double digits with a run of 12 unanswered points over a four-minute span.

Rohrbach played a part in the final seven points of the spree. She made a layup and a three-pointer before passing to a cutting Maddie Maloney, whose layup made the score 56-42 in the Falcons' favor with 10:57 remaining.

The Wildcats never came closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Jordan Harazin, who converted six of seven free throws in the final 1:17 to secure the win, led five SPU double-figure scorers with 17 points, 10 of them coming from the free throw line. Nyesha Sims scored 12 points while Hoisington and Rohrbach had 11 each.

Melissa Richardson tallied 15 points to pace the No. 6 seeded Wildcats, who completed their season with a 23-10 record. Chico's Natasha Smith added 12 points and Harrison finished with 11.

The Wildcats claimed their only lead of the game at 2-1 on a basket by Ferrall 2:19 into the game. SPU scored the next six points, opening with two free throws by Daesha Henderson who capped the run with a layup.

Henderson joined Reich on the West Region all-tournament team along with Chico State's Smith, Hanna Johansson from Alaska Anchorage and Andrea Bobic from Humboldt State.

The Falcons finally broke through the regional final after losing in their last three appearances. SPU lost in 2008 and 2009 to Alaska Anchorage and in 2006 to Chico.

Men's Basketball: Pomona Wins West Regional Title

Tournament MVP Austin Swift scored 19 points, including five in the final 97 seconds, lifting Cal Poly Pomona to a 78-75 victory over Brigham Young Hawaii in NCAA West Regional championship game Monday at Sam Carver Gym in Bellingham.

Cal Poly Pomona, the No.4 seed in the region, improved to 25-6 with its 18th win in the last 19 games.  Center Dwayne Fells and forward Donnelle Booker each had 15 points for the Broncos, who also beat BYU-Hawaii in the regional final in 2009 and reached the national championship game.

BYU-Hawaii, the No.6 seed, completed its season 22-6 with a third straight regional title game appearance.   Center Lucas Alves had game-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Seasiders, who had a 14-game winning streak snapped.

The score was tied at 72-72 after a driving layin by BYU-Hawaii guard Jet Chang, who finished with 21 points.  

But Swift took a pass from Dahir Nasser and hit a reverse layin to give the Broncos a two-point lead, then after a Seasiders turnover, nailed a three-pointer late in the shot clock to put Cal Poly Pomona up by five (77-72) with 45 seconds left.

A Chang three-pointer narrowed the margin to two, and after Mark Rutledge made one of two free throws with 26 seconds left, the Seasiders had a chance to tie, but missed three three-pointers in the final 11 seconds.

Joining Swift on the all-tournament team were Booker, Fells, Alves and Chang.

Baseball: Saints Upset Lewis-Clark State 5-3

Josh Grenier

Josh Grenier drove in four runs to lead Saint Martin's to a 5-3 win over Lewis-Clark State Monday, handing the Warriors just their second loss in 19 contests.

Grenier gave SMU (7-11) an early 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the third. But, the Warriors took the lead in the fifth scoring three runs on four hits.

The Saints, however, then got an outstanding relief performance from Casey Mitchell keeping their deficit at one run. Mitchell didn't allow a hit in four innings.

SMU then tied the game in the eighth on a double by Cody Brooks, then won it on a two-run double by Grenier.

Kaleb Wilson came on to pitch the ninth and save the game for Mitchell.

Men's Golf: Hope Fires 75 for NNU In First Round

Rowdy Hope opened with a 3-over par 75 and Northwest Nazarene sits in a tie for sixth place after the opening round of the Lewis-Clark State Invitational Monday afternoon at the Clarkston Golf & Country Club.

Hope led the Crusaders to an opening round 313, which finds NNU tied with Whitworth for sixth place in the team standings. Hope is tied for eighth individually over the 6,680-yard, par 72 layout.

Scores for the Crusaders included Zach Grunig and Leon Vasquez each with 79, Jeff McDonald and Aaron VanDeHey each with 80, and Tanner
Roggenkamp, playing as an individual, with an 84. The second and final round will begin on Tuesday

Sunday, Mar. 14

Softball: CWU Sweeps Vikings To Extend Lead

Monson

Danielle Monson had four hits to extend her hitting streak to 13 games and Samantha Petrich and Kelsey Haupert hit home runs as Central Washington completed a four-game sweep of Western Washington Sunday at Viking Field with 5-4 and 7-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victories.

Western Oregon also earned a road sweep defeating Saint Martin's 5-1 and 6-5 at Lacey as Kelsey White didn't allow a run in 6 2/3 innings in recording two relief victories.

Central Washington (10-4, 10-2) now leads defending champion Montana State Billings (8-4) by two games and is three up on Western Oregon (9-8, 7-5) in the conference race. MSUB visits Ellensburg for a four-game series next weekend.

Central had only twice previously in 18 seasons swept a doubleheader at Bellingham (in 2004 and 2005) and they accomplished that feat twice this weekend.

It was far from an easy task, however. In Saturday's opener, the Wildcats had an 8-2 lead before holding on for a 8-7 victory.

Western Washington (5-7, 5-7) made a similar, though more dramatic comeback Sunday nearly rallying from a two-out, none-on 5-0 deficit in its final at bat.

Seven consecutive WWU hitters reached base and four scored before CWU relief pitcher Katriina Reime finally nailed down the victory, getting Samantha Rutherford to ground out for the final out leaving the bases loaded.

The Viking seventh featured a rally-starting double by Jackie Rothenberger and a two-run double by Meghan Flem. It also included three walks and a dropped outfield fly before Reime earned her second save on the weekend.

CWU starter Lauren Hadenfeld, who is now 6-1, had been dominating up to that point allowing just a leadoff single in the first to Jessica Carey and a bunt single in the fourth to Samantha Rutherford.

Meanwhile Hadenfeld's teammates had provided her with five runs, though two were a gift scoring in the top of the seventh on a WWU throwing error.

CWU got its first run in the fourth on a homer by Petrich, then added two in the sixth on a two-out single by Christyne Alley.

Haupert broke the second game open in the fifth with a line-drive three-run home run to right field extending a 3-1 lead to 6-1. Monson, who had a single in the opener, went three for three and also drove in three runs, including two in the second and one in the sixth.

Lindy Baxter gave up 10 hits to the Vikings, including three to Flem and two each to Carey and Karli Baumgartner, but didn't walk a batter and got three double plays from her defense in leveling her record at 3-3.

Western Oregon 5-6, Saint Martin's 1-5

White allowed just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings in the opener, then hurled two shutout innings in the nightcap as Western Oregon posted 5-1 and 6-5 victories to win three of the four games in the series.

In the opener, White took over for Jessica Wood in the third after she had walked four hitters. She gave up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Morgan Klemm, but nothing else except a fifth-inning walk and a sixth-inning single by Kelsie McGladrey.

The Wolves broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth, scoring twice on walks and once on an error. Jessica Hallmark's single in the sixth extended that 4-1 lead to the final 5-1 margin.

Hallmark then provided the big blow in the second game staking WOU to a 5-0 lead with a third-inning grand slam. The Saints (5-12, 4-8), however, rallied getting two runs in the fourth and three in the sixth on singles by McGladrey and Kristi Sigafoos and on a fielder's choice.

Western Oregon, however, got the game-winner in the seventh on an infield single by Amanda Fleer. Tyler Sutherland scored three of WOU's runs, including one on a solo home run to lead off the game.

Baseball: Wolves, Yellowjackets Split Again

Western Oregon and Montana State Billings repeated the same script Sunday as on Saturday in splitting a Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader.

As it did Saturday, Western Oregon shutout the Yellowjackets by a double-digit margin in the opener only to see MSUB bounced back for a win in the nightcap. Sunday's scores were 12-0 and 15-11.

As a result, four of the conference's five teams are now within a game of each other in the standings. The eight-time champion Wolves (10-11, 5-3) are still in the lead, but MSUB (5-12, 4-4), Northwest Nazarene (4-4) and Saint Martin's (2-2) are all just a game back.

Jacob Pettit, with ninth-inning relief help from Dustin Fulks, hurled a five-hit shutout in the opener. Pettit (4-4) walked one and fanned five.

WOU had 13 hits, including a conference-game record tying eight doubles. They also had eight doubles in 2006 against Northwest Nazarene. The two-base record for all games is 11.

Logan Lotti and Grant Glover each had two of the doubles and Lotti and DH Jason Moseby each had three RBI.

The game was actually close until the seventh when WOU scored four runs to break up a 1-0 pitching duel between Pettit and Brian Howe. The Wolves then tacked on seven more runs in the eighth.

MSUB jumped to a 4-0 first-inning lead in the second game and never trailed as Jeff Ridgeway had four hits and Jordan Kessler and Ryan Dennehy each drove in four runs.

The Yellowjackets had 17 hits, three each by Kevin Zukaitis and Kessler and two apiece by Brian Dukart and Dennehy.

Glover and Andrew Irvine had three each for WOU. But the Wolves could never quite catch MSUB which scored in every inning except the sixth.

Saturday, Mar. 13

Women's Basketball: SPU Advances To Title Game

Henderson

Daesha Henderson scored 16 points including six free throws in the final 76 seconds and Nyesha Sims clinched it with two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining as Seattle Pacific defeated Alaska Anchorage 52-48 in the NCAA West Regional semifinals Saturday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The top-seeded Falcons (26-3) will now face No. 6 seed Chico State for the West Region title on Monday at 7 p.m. Chico rallied for an 86-76 win over Humboldt State in Saturday's first semifinal.

Monday's winner will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, Mar. 23-26 in St. Joseph, Mo.

The win was SPU's third straight this year against the Seawolves, who finished their season with a 24-5 record.

In addition to Henderson, Megan Hoisington and Melissa Reich were also in double figures for the Falcons, each netting 12 points.

Alaska Anchorage was led by the 11 points of Nicci Miller, but no one else reached double figures for the two-time defending West Region champions.

SPU was down 45-43 with 1:16 left when Henderson went to the line and hit both. Reich hit one of two with 50.9 seconds remaining to put the Falcons up 46-45.

Henderson then missed a pair at the 37.6-second mark, but Reich rebounded the second miss. Henderson was fouled and hit both at 28.7 seconds to make it a 48-45 Falcon lead.

Anchorage's Nikki Aden hit one of two foul shots at 18.9 seconds. Henderson was then fouled with 15.4 seconds left and drained both to extend SPU's lead to four points.

Then after a lay-in with 8.2 seconds left by Aden, Sims, who had been 0 for 4, hit two free throws to clinch the victory.

SPU's last 11 points came on free throws as it made 11 of 14 at the line in the final four minutes of the game.

Men's Basketball: Vikings Lose On Last-Second Shot

Derrick Webb

Center Dwayne Fells scored on a post-up with 0.6 seconds left in overtime lifting Cal Poly Pomona to a 76-75 victory over Western Washington in a NCAA West Regional semifinal game Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Cal Poly Pomona (25-6), which has won 17 of 18 since three consecutive losses in the same week in early January, will face BYU-Hawaii on Monday in the title game. The Seasiders advanced with a 77-58 win over Cal State San Bernardino.

It's a rematch of the 2009 West Region championship game won by Cal Poly on the way to a berth in the NCAA Division II national championship game.

Forward Austin Swift led CPP with 22 points connecting on 10 of 15 shots. Swift also had five assists. The Broncos also got 15 points and nine rebounds from Donnelle Booker and 11 points and seven rebounds from Fells.

Forward Derrick Webb, who had a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds, gave Western Washington (26-6) a 75-74 lead with 19.6 seconds left on two free throws.

But after the Vikings intentionally committed two fouls that forced inbound passes, including the final one with 3.5 seconds left, the Broncos got the ball to Fells on the right block, and he turned and banked a shot off the glass for the winning points.

The Broncos also needed a basket with 0.6 seconds left to force the overtime.  Western guard Morris Anderson made two free throws with 10.2 seconds to play, but Swift hit a driving layin to tie the game at 69-69.

Forward Zach Bruce had 15 points for Western and forward Rory Blanche added 10 off the bench. 

The Broncos shot 56.9 percent (33-58) from the field, with Swift, Booker, and Fells combining to go 22 of 34. Meanwhile, the Vikings, who had only five turnovers, were even better making 30 of 54 for 57.1 percent.

Neither team ever led by seven points.  CPP shot 70.8 percent (17-24) from the field in the first half, but needed a three-pointer by Booker at the end of the period to hold a 37-36 lead.

Indoor Track: Pixler, Brown Win National Titles

Pixler	Brown

Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific won her fourth straight women's mile title and Ryan Brown of Western Washington won the men's pole vault Saturday as the NCAA Division II Indoor National track-and-field meet came to a close at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

Pixler, who anchored SPU's national championship distance medley relay team on Friday, made it four-for-four at the national meet in the mile in a time of 4:46.42.

The Falcons also got a third-place finish in the mile from Jane Larson to end up seventh in the women's team standings with 26 points. Larson was timed in 4:50.74.

Western Washington got a pair of fourth-place finishes on Saturday and finished 14th in the women's team standings with 12 points.

Sarah Porter placed fourth in the 5000 in a time of 17:26.05 and WWU's 4x400 relay team also placed fourth in 3:48.67. The Vikings were also seventh on Friday in the distance medley relay.

Brown earned the Vikings their only 10 points in the men's team standings, which was still good for 14th place, matching the women's finish.

WWU had two other competitors Saturday but neither earned points. Jordan Welling was 12th in the men's 5,000 in a time of 15:46.73. Emily Warman ended up 10th for the Vikings in the women's triple jump with a leap of 38-6 1/4.

NCAA INDOORS (March 12-13 at Albuquerque): Women - Lincoln (Mo.) 56, Ashland 47, Grand Valley 47, Adams State 38, Nebraska Omaha 35 (7. Seattle Pacific 26, 14. Western Washington 12). Individuals: 800 – 12. Annan Applebee, WOU, 2:16.35. Mile – 1. Jessica Pixler, SPU, 4:46.42 (5:04.77); 3. Jane Larson, SPU, 4:50.74 (4:58.22); 13. Kate Harline, SPU, 5:14.52. 5000 – 4. Sarah Porter, WWU, 17:26.05. Distance Medley – 1. Seattle Pacific (Jane Larson, Jennifer Pike, Lisa Anderberg, Jessica Pixler) 11:29.88; 7. Western Washington (Courtney Olsen, Megan O'Connell, Rachael Johnson, Sarah Porter) 12:02.32. 4x400 – 4. Western Washington (Ellie Siler, Michelle Howe, Megan O'Connell, Sarah Brownell) 3:48.67. Long Jump – 11. Emily Warman, WWU, 5.05 - 18-2 1/2.Triple Jump – 10. Emily Warman, WWU, 11.74 - 38-6 1/4. Men - Adams State 89, St. Augustine's 72, Abilene Christian 52, Lincoln (Mo.) 37, Central Missouri 36 (14. Western Washington 10). Individuals: Mile – 12. Anthony Tomsich, WWU, 4:18.69. 5000 – 12. Jordan Welling, WWU, 15:46.73. Pole Vault – 1. Ryan Brown, WWU, 5.16 - 16-11.

Outdoor Track: UAA's Preston Goes 24-6 1/4 in LJ

Demietrius Preston won the long jump with a provisional national qualifying mark of 24-6 1/4 and also finished seventh in the 200 in a time of 22.17 to lead Alaska Anchorage's effort Saturday at the Northridge Invitational.

Preston's PNQ was one of six for the Seawolves at Northridge and among a total of 15 set during the weekend.

Freshman Ethan Hewitt cut .35 seconds off his PNQ and GNAC record he set last week in Las Vegas, in winning the 400 in a time of 47.62.

Also improving upon their provisional 1500 marks from Las Vegas was Alfred Kangogo and Marko Cheseto. Kangogo claimed first place with a time of 3:49.46, while Cheseto was runner-up with a time of 3:51.88.

On the women's side, Hallidie Wilt provisionally qualified in the 1500 meters with a second-place time of 4:30.65.

In the javelin, Elisha Harris broke her own UAA record in the javelin with a toss of 141-3 – easily earning her the provisional mark.

Northridge Invitational (Mar. 13 at Northridge): Men (Top 8): 200 - 1. Demietrius Preston, UAA, 22.17. 400 - 1. Ethan Hewitt, UAA, 47.62. 1500 - 1. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:49.46; 2. Marko Cheseto, UAA, 3:51.88. 4x400 - 3. Alaska Anchorage 3:17.52. Long Jump - 1. Demietrius Preston, UAA, 24-6 1/4. Women (Top 8): 1500 - 2. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 4:30.65; 4. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 4:42.00; 5. Ruth Keino, UAA, 4:43.11; 6. Laura Carr, UAA, 4:43.86; 8. Katie Krehlik, UAA, 4:45.31. Javelin - 5. Elisha Harris, UAA, 141-3.

Warrington Wins Three Events in NNU Open

Joy Warrington of Northwest Nazarene won three events at the Northwest Nazarene Open Saturday, sweeping the shot put, discus and hammer.

Warrington won the shot with a put of 41-8 3/4, the discus with a throw of 120-9 and the hammer with a heave of 144-9.

Her wins were among 14 by the Crusader women in the meet including a victory by Lakiesha Nilles Friday in the javelin. Nilles had a provisional national qualifying throw of 142-0. NNU's men won six events.

The Crusaders also had the top finishers in Thursday and Friday's multi-events as Ben Heidegger won the decathlon with 5,043 points and Jill Bennett won the heptathlon with 3,596 points.

NNU Open (March 11-13 at Nampa): Women (GNAC Winners): 100 – Melissa Grammer, NNU, 12.65. 200 – Latoya Tidwell, NNU, 27.00. 400 – Shanna Rippy, NNU, 1:05.19. 1500 – Michelle Phillips, NNU, 4:54.87. 400 Hurdles – Amy Ciaccio, NNU, 1:11.33. 4x100 – Northwest Nazarene, 50.98. Pole Vault – Karina Elzinga, NNU, 3.05 - 10-0. Long Jump – Jasmyn Jewitt, NNU, 5.10 - 16-8 3/4. Triple Jump – Molly Reid, NNU, 10.90 - 35-9 1/4. Shot Put – Joy Warrington, NNU, 12.72 - 41-8 3/4. Discus – Joy Warrington, NNU, 36.82 - 120-9. Hammer – Joy Warrington, 44.12 - 144-9. Javelin – Lakiesha Nilles, NNU, 43.29 - 142-0. Heptathlon - Jill Bennett, NNU, 3596. Men (GNAC Winners): 100 – Cameron Colby, NNU, 11.25. 200 – Maurus Hope, NNU, 22.63. 400 Hurdles – Mark Hanson, NNU, 58.67. 4x100 – Northwest Nazarene, 44.05. 4x400 – Northwest Nazarene, 3:30.11. Javelin – Erica Zwiefelhofer, NNU, 55.28 - 181-4. Decathlon - Ben Heidegger, NNU, 5043.

Provisional Mark for Fischer at PLU Open

Tyler Fischer of Central Washington won the men's hammer with a national provisional mark of 181-2 Saturday at the Pacific Lutheran Open in Tacoma.

Fischer bettered the provisional standard by three feet in posting the fourth best mark in GNAC history. Fischer also took home victories in the men's discus (152-7) and shot put (49-9 1/4).

On the women's side, CWU's Katharine Lotze, Raisa Yates and Raquel Gonzalez each took two individual events.

Lotze swept the 100 hurdles (15.50) and triple jump (35-6 1/2). Yates won both the shot put where she threw 38-11 and the discus with a throw of 128-4. Gonzalez posted wins in the 400 hurdles (1:10.61) and high jump (4-11 3/4).

In all, CWU won 17 events, including 10 in the men's division and seven in the women's.

Saint Martin's had three victories as Annie Laweryson won the women's 800 (2:24.39), Samantha Hull finished first in the javelin (128-9)and Kyle Van Santen won the men's 5,000 (15:26.13).

SMU's Josh DeVaughn also had a good day setting school records in the 100 (11.05) and 200 (22.33) to earn second and third-place finishes. He was also second in the long jump (21-2 1/2), falling just shy of the school record. All three performances are automatic qualifying marks for the GNAC championships in May.

PLU Invitational (March 13 at Tacoma) Women (GNAC Winners): 800 – Annie Laweryson, SMU, 2:24.39. 100 Hurdles – Katharine Lotze, CWU, 15.50. 400 Hurdles – Raquel Gonzalez, CWU, 1:10.61. High Jump – Raquel Gonzalez, CWU, 4-11 3/4. Triple Jump – Katharine Lotze, CWU, 35-6 1/2. Shot Put – Raisa Yates, CWU, 38-11. Discus - Raisa Yates, CWU, 1284 . Hammer – Torrie Self, CWU, 157-3. Javelin – Samantha Hull, SMU, 128-9. Men (GNAC Winners): 100 – Kincaid Nichols, CWU, 10.97. 200 – Anthony Wright, CWU, 22.04. 400 – Scott Morrison, CWU, 49.59. 5000 – Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 15:26.13. 110 Hurdles – Anthony Hogan, CWU, 15.53. 400 Hurdles – Gante Price, CWU, 55.83. 4x100 – Central Washington, 42.47. 4x400 – Central Washington, 3:24.46. Shot Put – Tyler Fischer, CWU, 49-9 1/4. Discus – Tyler Fischer, CWU, 152-7. Hammer – Tyler Fischer, CWU, 181-2.

Softball: Central Washington, MSUB Earn Sweeps

Central Washington swept a doubleheader from Western Washington and Montana Billings swept Northwest Nazarene Saturday.

The Wildcats edged the Vikings 8-7 in their first game before winning the second contest 8-3, while MSUB beat Northwest Nazarene 5-3 and 8-0 completing a sweep of their four-game series.

Meanwhile at Lacey, pitching dominated as Western Oregon and Saint Martin's divided a pair of one-run decisions. The Saints got a run in the bottom of the seventh to win the opener 2-1, but the Wolves rebounded for a 3-2, 13-inning victory in the nightcap.

Central Washington 8-8, Western Washington 7-3

Central Washington used a grand slam home run by third baseman Kelsey Haupert during a five-run third inning in building a 8-2 lead through 4 1/2 innings then withstood a five-run Viking fifth to win their opener.

Western Washington got a two-run home run by Jackie Rothenberger and a three-run home run by Caitlin Dotlich in their big inning. Katriina Reime, however, then came in to dose the fire, allowing just two hits and no runs over the final 2 2/3 innings to earn a save.

Starter Lauren Hadenfeld recorded the victory, giving up six hits and all six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

CWU got two hits each from the top four hitters in its lineup - Danielle Monson, Keilani Cruz, Samantha Petrich and Haupert - along with two from Ashley Fix. Rothenberger and Samantha Rutherford had two each for WWU.

Central used another five-run third inning to win the nightcap. Once again Haupert provided the big blow going deep for the fourth time this season with one runner on base.

The Wildcats also got runs in the inning on RBI singles by Christyne Alley and Danielle Monson and on an error.CWU later added sixth-inning insurance runs on a ground out by Haupert - her 22nd RBI of the season in 12 games - and on a single by Ashley Fix.

Meanwhile, Lindy Baxter scattered seven hits - two by Jordan Emmil - to earn her second win against three losses.

The Vikings three runs came in the second on a sacrifice fly by Kelsey Anderson and in the sixth on a single by Rachelle Berry and a sacrifice by Jessica Carey.

Montana State Billings 5-8, Northwest Nazarene 3-0

Montana State Billings (10-7, 8-4) spotted Northwest Nazarene a 2-0 lead then rallied to beat the Crusaders 5-3, going ahead for good on a sacrifice fly by Becca Frank in the third.

The Yellowjackets then completed the sweep of their four-game series winning the second game 8-0 as Josie Grotbo tossed a four-hit shutout.

In Saturday's opener, Frank and Kelly Parsons each had two RBI to offset a pair of home runs by Northwest Nazarene (2-10, 2-10).

Crusader catcher Arielle Chao homered for two runs in the first. Then after MSUB had gone ahead 5-2 in the fifth on a single by Frank and a sacrifice fly by Angela Lingle, NNU's Sarah Varady had a solo shot to complete the scoring.

Lindsey Trenary picked up the win for MSUB to improve to 6-1. She allowed five hits, walking one and fanning six.

Grotbo (2-0) walked one and fanned one in the six-inning second-game. Parsons led a 13-hit Yellowjacket attack going deep twice. Her three-run blast in the first along with a solo shot by Jenna VanEykeren made it 4-0 after one inning.

Parsons added a solo shot in the fifth. MSUB then ended the game in the sixth scoring on singles by Amanda Goings and Kaycee Hoffman.

Saint Martin's 2-2, Western Oregon 1-3

Joslyn Eugenio drove in both of Saint Martin's runs and also pitched a six-hitter as the Saints beat Western Oregon in their opener 2-1.

The Wolves, however, outlasted the Saints 3-2 in the nightcap in the longest conference game in GNAC history. The 13-inning contest was one inning longer than the previous record of 12.

Eugenio walked one and fanned four. She gave up an RBI single to WOU catcher Ellen Bogardus in the second, but tripled to drive in the tying run in the third inning.

Then in the seventh, her two-out double plated Kristine Kaneshiro from second base for the winning run. Brittany Burgess had started the inning with a single before Kaneshiro hit into a force. A passed ball sent Kaneshiro to second before Eugenio's game-winning hit.

WOU's Jessie Lessard allowed just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings to get the win in the second game, while Eugenio, who pitched the final 3 1/3 for SMU got the loss.

The game was tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation. Both teams then scored one run in the ninth -WOU on a passed ball and SMU on a double by Jaimee Aiwohi.

Finally in the 13th, Western Oregon got the decisive run. George led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a ground out, then scored on a single by Lessard.

Baseball: Yellowjackets Earn Split With Western Oregon

Michael Ward pitched Western Oregon to a 10-0 win over Montana State Billings in their opener, but the Yellowjackets earned a split defeating the Wolves 4-3 in the nightcap of their GNAC baseball doubleheader Saturday at Monmouth.

Meanwhile at Ellensburg, Northwest Nazarene (10-11, 4-4) swept Central Washington 13-5, 8-6 to win their GNAC series 3-1.

Ward (3-1), who struck out 10, allowed three singles - none over his final five innings - and didn't walk a batter though he did pluck two with pitches in Western Oregon's victory.

The Wolves put the game away early scoring four runs in the first inning and four in the third.

Daniel Dillard accounted for three of the runs in the opening inning with a home run. Logan Lotti had a two-run single in the third inning. Dillard finished the contest with three hits, while Lotti, Jason Moseby and Kyle Boe had two each.

MSUB's Kody Kennedy (2-0) outdueled WOU's Blake Keitzman (2-2) in the nightcap. Both pitchers allowed six hits and gave up three runs in a single inning. Kennedy walked four and fanned two while Keitzman had one walk and struck out six.

The Yellowjackets scored first getting runs on an error, passed ball and ground out in the third. WOU countered in the fourth scoring twice on a throwing error on a bunt single by Lotti and on a single by Andrew Irvine.

MSUB got the winning run in the fifth as Jeff Ridgeway doubled, moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Dukart and scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Schoonover, who earned his second RBI of the game.

In addition to his sacrifice, Dukart led MSUB with three hits. Boe had two hits for WOU.

Northwest Nazarene 13-8, Central Washington 5-6

Tyler Nicholson had a five-hit game and Sean McDonald and Jon Keller had four-hit contests in Northwest Nazarene's sweep.

In the opener, the Crusaders pounded out 18 hits, five by Nicholson and four by McDonald, who also drove in four runs.

Kramer Uvila and Nicholson each drove in two runs as Keller went six innings allowing seven hits and three runs in evening his record at 2-2.

CWU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game scoring three runs on a double by Anthony Sanelli in the second, but NNU responded with 11 unanswered runs over the next six frames.

Northwest Nazarene used a five-run opening frame and was never caught in the second contest as Keller led the way with four hits and four RBI and McDonald had three hits and scored three runs to finish the twinbill with seven hits.

Three of Keller's RBIs came on a first inning home run; the fourth came in on a fourth-inning single. J.T. Brodrick picked up the win, his first against two losses, allowing eight hits and five runs over five innings.

Ricky McKinney and Sanelli each had two RBI for the Wildcats. Sanelli, Chance Plutt and Jake Hammons all contributed two safeties.

Friday, Mar. 12

Men's Basketball: Vikings Advance To Semifinals

Anderson

Top-seed Western Washington (26-5) saw a 21-point lead slip away, then rallied in the final minutes to claim an 84-70 victory over Central Washington (16-11) in the NCAA West Regionals Friday at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Earlier center Lucas Alves had team highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds as Brigham Young Hawaii (21-5) eliminated Seattle Pacific 76-72.

The Seasiders, the sixth seed, will play second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino (23-7) in Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal. The Coyotes eliminated Humboldt State 75-66 in their game.

Western Washington will face defending champion Cal Poly Pomona (23-6) in Saturday's 7:30 p.m. contest. Pomona ousted Dixie State 71-62 in its first-round contest.

Guard Morris Anderson scored  a game-high 23 points as Western Washington improved to 14-1 at home with its victory.

The Vikings led by 21 points twice in the first half and held a 38-23 lead at halftime.

They were still up by 13 (55-42) with 12 minutes left before the Wildcats (16-11) staged a furious comeback, going on a 17-2 run to take a 59-57 lead on two Jon Clift free throws with 7:48 to go.

But Western bounced back quickly as Anderson hit a short jumper, then hit a another jumper and a free throw, starting an 11-2 run that put the Vikings up by seven (68-61) with 3:18 to play. 

The margin was never less than five points after that, and never less than nine in the final minute.

“We knew it wasn't going to be easy,” said WWU coach Brad Jackson.  “Even when we lost the lead, our guys kept their cool, and once we got a couple buckets we regained the momentum.”

The Vikings used a 23-5 charge to jump to a 31-10 lead with 6:16 left in the first half as Central missed 17 of its first 20 shots from the field. 

Western held a 38-23 lead at halftime after a period where it shot 60.0 percent (15-25) from the field against just 22.9 percent (8-35) for the Wildcats. 

“We just started too slow and dug ourselves too big a hole,” said Central coach Greg Sparling.  “I'm happy with the way we came back. We went to a four and five-guard offense and spread it out and that caused them some problems.  But after we tied it, Anderson just took over the game.”

Forward Derrick Webb had 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds and guard Andrew Ready added 13 points for the Vikings, who finished the game at 54.3 percent (25-46) from the field. Rory Blanche was also in double figures with 10.

Toussaint Tyler came off the bench to lead Central with 18 points. Clift had 14 points for the Wildcats. Also in double figures were J.C. Cook with 11 and Riley Sivak with 10. Cook, however, was just three of 14 from the floor.

The Wildcats shot just 30.0 percent (21-70) in the contest, their lowest percentage in six years.

Brigham Young Hawaii 76, Seattle Pacific 72

Alves and guard Jet Chang, who had 15 points, led BYU-Hawaii to their 13th consecutive win.

Guard Chris Banchero had a game-high 22 points for Seattle Pacific, but was just five of 16, including one of eight in the opening half. The Falcons, who came into the tournament seeded third, finished their 2009-10 campaign at 22-6.

The Seasiders led much of the game and had an 11-point lead, the biggest of the contest (71-60) with 1:15 to play before missing five of six free throws.

SPU closed to within two (74-72) on two Banchero free throws with 6.2 seconds left.  But Anthony Reilly then iced the game for BYU-Hawaii, hitting a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds to play.

BYU-Hawaii, which entered the contest ranked first nationally in field goal percentage at 52.2 percent, shot a season-low 42.6 percent (26-61) from the field, but held SPU, third in the country at 51.5 percent, to 34.4 percent (21-61), the lowest mark of the year for the Falcons.

Seattle Pacific, which was five of 25 from the arc, had been ranked first nationally prior to its trip to Alaska last weekend where the Falcons lost their final two games of the regular-season.

“We thought if we could control the tempo and keep the score in the seventies, we'd have a pretty good opportunity to win,” said Seattle Pacific coach Ryan Looney.  “But unfortunately, we just didn't shoot for a high enough percentage.”

Jeff Downs had 12 points for the Falcons.  Guard Brandon Larrieu added 10, and forward Jake Anderson had seven points and 12 rebounds.

Joining Alves and Chang in doubles figures for BYU-Hawaii were Rory Patterson with 12 points and Garrett Sandberg with 11. Both Alves and Sandberg, who had 10 rebounds, had double-doubles.

Women's Basketball: SPU, UAA To Square Off In Semis

Melissa Reich

Melissa Reich tallied a career-high 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Friday leading top-seeded Seattle Pacific to a 65-52 win over Hawaii Pacific in the NCAA West Regionals at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (25-3) will play No. 4 seed Alaska Anchorage (24-4) in Saturday's second semifinal in a game matching the two highest remaining seeds in the tournament. The two-time defending West Region Seawolves used a big second half to beat Cal Poly Pomona 69-50.

The other semifinal will match sixth-seed Chico State which defeated Western Washington 79-68 and seventh-seeded Humboldt State which upset No. 2 UC San Diego 76-72.

Reich, a junior center from Bellevue Christian High School, registered her third double-double and led a balanced SPU attack that got 13 points from Daesha Henderson and 12 from Nyesha Sims.

Mana Hopkins scored 16 points to pace the Sea Warriors, who completed their season with an 18-7 record.

Hawaii Pacific opened an early four-point lead at 9-5 capped by a Paris Gravely jumper with 14:07 left in the first half.

SPU, however, scored the next nine points, ignited by consecutive baskets from Henderson, to claim the lead for good.

That started the Falcons, who also got six points and 11 rebounds from Megan Hoisington, on a surge that carried them to a 16-point advantage. HPU netted the final four points of the first period to draw within 29-17 at halftime.

The game was delayed for 20 minutes while the athletic training staff tended to a leg injury suffered by HPU's Genesis Lewis with 11:39 showing on the second-half clock. She was eventually taken away on a stretcher.

After the lengthy break, the Sea Warriors staged a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 40-33 with 7:57 left to play.

Henderson stopped the surge with a layup at 7:37, starting SPU on a 13-2 spree. Maddie Maloney capped that run with 4:13 remaining on a pair of free throws that gave the Falcons their largest lead at 53-35.

Hopkins scored nine straight HPU points to spark a late rally that closed the margin to 10 points, but the Falcons converted seen of 10 free throws during the final minute to secure the win.

Alaska Anchorage 69, Cal Poly Pomona 50

Hanna Johansson had 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead Alaska Anchorage past Cal Poly Pomona.

The Seawolves (24-4) – the two-time defending West Region champions – also got 17 points from junior guard Nikki Aden as they advanced to the second round for the fourth straight season.

The Broncos (22-7), seeded No. 5 in the eight-team regional, were led by 12 points and 11 rebounds from forward Stephisa Walton, but leading scorer and All-CCAA First Team guard Reyana Colson was held to 10 points on three of 15 shooting.

Johansson, who had the second-highest scoring game and the first double-double of her career, sparked a 10-0 run early in the second half that gave UAA the lead for good. The 6-2 Swede shot seen of 13 from the floor and buried 4 of 5 free throws.

“(Hanna) has really started to come into her own,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “We’re fortunate to have her for another couple years. I’m expecting her to be one of the best players in the GNAC, if not in the country in a couple years.”

The Seawolves led 8-2 early and held the advantage until Pomona scored the final basket of the first half to go up 32-30. After the Broncos scored on their opening possession, UAA switched to a zone defense that held the Southern California squad to just 18 points on 26 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.

Aden, who scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, hit the go-ahead three-pointer to make it 37-34 and added two dagger-like treys later in the stanza.

After UAA stretched to a 12-point advantage, Walter sliced it to 52-44 on a baseline jumper with 5:29 left. Aden was immediately fouled, however, and started a clinching 10-0 run with a pair of free throws on the next play.

The Seawolves made their first 19 free throws before finishing a solid 22 of 25 from the charity stripe. UAA also canned five of nine from long range in the second half as it got a huge lift off the bench from guard Leah Stepovich (7 points, 5 rebounds).

“Right now, teams are having a hard time guarding Hanna (Johansson) and Kelsie (Gourdin) and Nikki (Aden),” Moser said. “ It’s hard to guard them when our perimeter is making shots.”

Tamar Gruwell scored 13 points – including three three-pointers – and had four of UAA’s 11 steals, while Gourdin scored 10 points, shooting six of six from the free throw line.

Chico State 79, Western Washington 68

Center Jessica Summers had game-highs of 27 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Western Washington fell to Chico State.

Guard Amanda Dunbar had 18 points and six assists and guard Ashley Fenimore added 10 points for the nationally 18th ranked Vikings, who finished their season with a 23-5 record.

Guards Synchro Bull and Natasha Smith each had 15 points for Chico State (22-9). Forward Christine Vest added 11 points and seven rebounds for the No.6 seed Wildcats, who won for the 14th time in their last 16 games.

Western had a three-point lead (64-61) after a basket by Summers with 5:39 left, but that proved to be the last Viking field goal of the game. 

A layup by Natasha Richardson gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 65-64 with 4:24 to play.  The Vikings were still down by only three (71-68) with under a minute left, but Bull scored with the shot clock running down to push the margin back to five, and Chico State then pulled away by hitting six straight free throws.

Western had led by eight points (50-42) with 16:37 to play after an 8-0 run that featured five points by Fenimore, but Chico State scored the next 10 points to take a 52-50 advantage with 14 minutes left.

The Vikings, who beat the Wildcats 80-59, in Bellingham on Dec. 20, entered Friday's game second nationally in both field-goal percentage (48.4) and three-point percentage (41.1), but shot just 37.3 percent (25-67) from the field, including 30.0 percent (six of 20) on three-pointers.

Track and Field: SPU Wins Distance Medley Title

Seattle Pacific won the women's distance medley and Western Washington placed seventh at the NCAA Division II Indoor National track-and-field meet Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Falcons won the event in a time of 11:29.88 as Jessica Pixler came from third place at the start of her 1,600-meter anchor leg and passed Shippensburg's Neely Spence with about 30 meters left. It was SPU's first national championship in that event.

The Falcon team of Jane Larson, Jennifer Pike, Lisa Anderberg and Pixler won in a season-best, school record and GNAC record time of 11:29.88.

This was the first time this particular unit had run together. Pixler, Larson and Anderberg were part of the team that posted an 11:32.23 at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 16. Crystal Sims was the other member of that squad.

When Pixler took off for the final 1,600 meters, she was in third, 3.81 seconds behind Shippensburg anchor runner Neely Spence. Adams State anchor Alicia Nelson was second, 43 hundredths of a second in front of Pixler.

Pixler caught and passed Nelson. Then, she passed Spence with about 150 meters to go, saw Spence edge back in front briefly, then Pixler went ahead for good with about 30 meters to go. Pixler's time was 4:41.36, five seconds faster than Spence's 4:46.60.

Western Washington's quartet of Courtney Olsen, Megan O'Connell, Rachael Johnson and Sarah Porter also gained All-America status with its top eight finish in a time of 12:02.32.

In other action Friday, Pixler qualified for the finals of the mile winning her heat in a time of 5:04.07. She will go for her fourth consecutive national title in the event Saturday.

Larson finished second in her preliminary heat in 4:58.33 and also qualified for the finals.

Failing to qualify for Saturday's finals were SPU's Kate Harline who finished 13th in the mile with a time of 5:14.52, Anthony Tomsich of Western Washington who was 12th in the prelims of the men's mile with a time of 4:18.69 and Annan Applebee of Western Oregon who was12th in the prelims of the women's 800 in a time of 2:16.35.

In a final event, the Vikings' Emily Warman finished 11th in the women's long jump with a mark of 18-2 1/2.

Eight Qualifiers for Alaska Anchorage at Occidental

Alaska Anchorage had eight provisional national qualifiers Friday in the Occidental Distance Carnival in Los Angeles.

Seven of the qualifiers came in the 5,000 as Marko Cheseto and Miriam Kipng'eno won the men's and women's events with times of 14:13.92 and 16:59.24, respectively.

Cheseto led three UAA male athletes across the finish line among the top four. Alfred Kangogo placed second in a PNQ of 14:17.74. Micah Chelimo also met the standard finishing fourth in 14:36.05.

Cheseto didn't match his career-best but Kangogo and Chelimo joined him on the GNAC's all-time Top 10 list moving into third and eighth place, respectively.

Led by Kipng'eno, UAA women finished first, second, fourth and sixth in the 5,000, all with PNQ marks.

Kipng'eno became the fifth GNAC women to run faster than 17 minutes, moving into fourth on the all-time list. Ruth Keino placed second in 17:00.03 to move into sixth place on the all-time GNAC chart. Laura Carr was fourth in 17:09.34 and Hallidie Wilt was sixth in 17:23.36.

Emma Bohman placed third in the women's steeplechase in a PNQ of 11:17.99, which ranks ninth in conference history.

Oxy Distance Carnival (Mar. 12 at Los Angeles, CA): Men (Top 8): 800 - 7. Levi Sutton, UAA, 1:56.26. 5000 - 1. Marko Cheseto, UAA, 14:13.92; 2. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 14:17.74; 4. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 14:36.05. Women (Top 8): 800 - 8. Ariel Roelle, UAA, 2:20.18. 1500 - 4. Kristen King, UAA, 4:54.96. 5000 - 1. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 16:59.24; 2. Ruth Keino, UAA, 17:00.03; 4. Laura Carr, UAA, 17:09.34; 6. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 17:23.36. Steeplechase - 3. Emma Bohman, UAA, 11:17.99.

Baseball: Wildcats Split With Northwest Nazarene

Bryce Hjellum pitched a six-hitter in the opener and Joel Oliver drove in three runs in the nightcap as Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene divided a GNAC baseball doubleheader Friday at Tomlinson Field.

Hjellum walked two and fanned four as the Wildcats (3-11, 1-1) won their conference opener 7-4. Northwest Nazarene (8-11, 2-4), however, used a four-run first inning and banged out 16 hits to win the nightcap 9-4.

Hjellum gave up two runs in the sixth and ninth, but just one hit in the other seven innings in earning his first collegiate win in four decisions. CWU had 10 hits including three by second baseman Keola Rubin.

Rubin scored one run and drove in two. His two-run triple was the big blow in a four-run CWU second. Kevin Schneider also had two RBI homering to start the second and then singling to end CWU's scoring in the seventh.

The Wildcats also got two hits from Brett Bielec, including a RBI single in the second. Oliver drove in two of NNU's runs with a ninth inning home run.

In the second game, Oliver singled for two runs in the first. He doubled to start a three-run fifth. He later added a RBI single in the sixth to key the Crusader victory.

First baseman Jon Keller and designated hitter Connor Rankin also had three hits for NNU to back the pitching of Jesse Gwaltney, who allowed six hits and all four CWU runs in six innings. Gwaltney evened his record at 2-2.

Schneider had two of CWU's six hits including his second home run of the day to lead off the second.

Softball: Yellowjackets Sweep Northwest Nazarene

Stevie Howard drove in three runs and Lindsay Trenary pitched a five-hitter as Montana State Billings defeated Northwest Nazarene 5-1 Friday in the opening game of a GNAC doubleheader at Cenex Stadium in Billings.

The Yellowjackets completed the sweep winning the second game 9-4. Catcher Jenna VanEykeren and third baseman Angela Lingle led a 12-hit offensive attack combining for five safeties and six RBI.

Howard had a bunt single in the third inning for MSUB's first run of the day, then slammed a two-run triple to key a four-run fifth inning. The 'Jackets go-ahead run came on a single by Bobbie Lee.

Trenary walked three and fanned eight in improving to 5-1 on the season. Arielle Chao had two of NNU's hits and pitcher Chelsey Anderson had the lone RBI with a fifth-inning double to briefly tie the game.

In the second game, Lingle came off the bench to go three for three, while VanEykeren had two hits. Both players homered to help rally MSUB from an early 3-0 deficit.

The 'Jackets took the lead for good scoring four runs in the fourth on a grand slam by VanEykeren. Lingle had a two-run home run to key a three-run MSUB sixth.

Josie Grotbo went the distance allowing nine hits to win her first game of the season. Emily Renfro had three hits and Haley Hevern and Catherine Lowery each had two for NNU.