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#1 seed Seattle Pacific nudges HPU from NCAA II Tourney
HPU Women’s Basketball Falls To Seattle Pacific In NCAA
Regional
(Courtesy HPU Sports Information)
Seattle, WA – Mana Hopkins scored 16 points, but #1 seed Seattle Pacific bounced #8 seed Hawai‘i Pacific 65-52 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II West Regional Friday night at Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.
The Sea Warriors close out the year with a 17-8 overall mark and their first post-season appearance in an NCAA II Tournament, while Seattle Pacific (25-3) advances to the regional semifinals.
“I thought our team played timid at times, missing shots that we normally make,” Jeff Harada, HPU’s head coach, said. “But hats off to Seattle Pacific. They’re a great team and played well on their home court.”
In addition to her 16 points, Hopkins had six rebounds but was tagged with her fourth foul midway through the second half that forced her to the bench. Jazzmin Awa-Williams recorded 11 points and four rebounds for HPU, while Britni Ronolo added a team-high 10 boards.
Melissa Reich led the Falcons with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
HPU held an early 9-5 lead but saw SPU run off 22 of the next 24 points to grab a 27-11 advantage with 3:45 remaining in the first half. The Sea Warriors made a push to close the period when Hopkins’ jumper narrowed the deficit to 29-17 at the break.
SPU opened up a 15-point gap in the second half but HPU responded again, closing the margin to seven points. A Courtney Buster (6 pts, 8 reb.) lay-up with just under seven minutes to play sliced the Seattle Pacific lead to 42-35.
The seven-point margin would be as close as HPU could get as Seattle Pacific scored 11 straight points to extend its advantage to 18 with 4:05 remaining.
“I’m really proud of the ladies,” Harada added. “This loss in no way takes away from the fantastic season they had.”
