The Seawolves' remarkable run of success in the West Region ended Saturday night, and so did the team's season.
Fittingly, the end came at the hands of tournament host Seattle Pacific, which entered the region as the No. 1 seed for the third year in a row and finally found a way to turn back the formidable UAA women's basketball team.
The Falcons, ranked 13th in the nation, took advantage of No. 14 UAA's foul trouble to eke out a tense 52-48 victory in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II West Region at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
The Seawolves had won their last seven West Region games, including victories over Seattle Pacific in the championship game in each of the past two seasons, but foul trouble cost UAA in the final minutes as post players Kelsie Gourdin and Hanna Johansson fouled out and the Falcons scored their final nine points from the free throw line.
"It's as tough a rivalry as there is," UAA coach Tim Moser said. "They don't like us, but as long as I'm here were going to continue to go after them."
Trailing 30-21 early in the second half, the Seawolves showed why they are such a tough out in the playoffs, going on a 16-6 charge to take a 37-36 lead. Senior guard Tamar Gruwell hit a pair of 3-point baskets on offense and took a pair of charges on defense to spark the run.
As the game slowly crept toward a thrilling conclusion, the lead bounced back and forth, and with 99 seconds to play Johansson gave the Seawolves a 45-43 advantage after grabbing an offensive rebound, getting fouled on the putback and finishing off the 3-point play at the line.
But each of the next six Seattle Pacific possessions resulted in a UAA foul -- the last two intentional -- and the Falcons were money at the foul line.
Daesha Henderson hit 4-of-6 attempts -- with the Falcons grabbing the offensive rebound after her second miss -- to put Seattle Pacific ahead 48-45 with 28 seconds left. The Falcons held on to move to a championship matchup against Chico State on Monday.
Henderson, the Player of the Year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
"I'm really proud of our kids despite tonight's outcome," Moser said. "We had a tough adjustment at mid-season when (starting point guard Kiki Taylor) went down with her injury, and the kids bounced back and made a solid run at this regional title again. I feel bad for our seniors who put their heart and soul into this season, but we'll regroup and hopefully be even better next year."
Senior forward Nicci Miller led UAA with 11 points and nine rebounds, but also committed seven turnovers. Gourdin, a junior forward, had eight points and eight rebounds -- including five on offense. Gruwell added nine points, junior guard Nikki Aden had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists and Johansson, a sophomore forward, added seven points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
It was a tightly called game with the whistles coming early and often. The Seawolves were called for 26 fouls, with Gourdin and Johansson fouling out and Miller, Aden and junior point guard Kaitlin McBride each finishing with four fouls. Seattle Pacific was whistled for 19 fouls and had two players finish with four fouls.
Seattle Pacific was only 16 of 26 from the foul line, but converted on its last six attempts in the final 28 seconds.
"We got our butt kicked at the free-throw line today," Moser said. "I don't want to make excuses, but it is frustrating as a coach."
After getting beaten on the boards and falling behind by seven points in the first half, the Seawolves tuned up the aggressiveness in the second half. UAA had 11 offensive rebounds in the second half, including six during the run that vaulted it into the lead.
Both teams finished with more turnovers than field goals. UAA committed 19 turnovers and hit 17-of-54 field goal attempts and Seattle Pacific had 18 turnovers and was 16 of 43 from the floor.
In its two regular-season losses to the Falcons, UAA fell behind by large margins in the first half, but on Saturday the Seawolves jumped out to a strong start on Saturday taking a 14-6 lead eight minutes into the game.
The Seawolves finished the year at 24-5, matching the third best record in school history. Three of the losses came against Seattle Pacific.
The contest marked the final game for five seniors: Miller, Gruwell, guards Leah Stepovich and Kiki Taylor and forward Brittany Collins.
"All five of those kids we are going to miss," Moser said. "Tamar brings it every night, Leah was just starting to find her groove -- I wish we had her for more than one year -- Miller is an offensive power, Collins has been a great leader for us and Taylor, this whole game probably changes if she is in there."
After playing only in the final second of Friday's opening round win over Cal Poly Pomona, Taylor didn't play on Saturday. Taylor broke a bone in her foot on Jan. 23 and had attempted to come back in time for the playoffs.
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UAA 19 29 -- 48
Seattle Pacific 26 26 -- 52
UAA -- Miller 4-12 2-2 11; Gruwell 3-7 0-0 9; Gourdin 3-9 2-3 8; Aden 3-10 1-2 8; Johansson 2-8 3-4 7; Stepovich 1-5 0-0 3; McBride 1-3 0-0 2; Herrin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 8-11 48.
Seattle Pacific -- Henderson 4-8 6-8 16; Hoisington 5-11 1-2 12; Reich 5-7 2-3 12; Sims 2-3 2-6 7; Rohrbach 0-4 2-2 2; Murray 0-1 2-2 2; Harazin 0-6 1-2 1; Maloneye 0-3 0-1 0; Gormana 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 16-26 52.
3-point goals -- UAA 6-21 (Gruwell 3-6; Aden 1-5; Stepovich 1-5; Miller 1-4; McBride 0-1), Seattle Pacific 4-18 (Henderson 2-5; Hoisington 1-4; Sims 1-2; Murray 0-1; Harazin 0-3; Maloney 0-2; Rohrbach 0-1). Fouled out -- Johansson; Gourdin. Rebounds -- UAA 37 (Miller 9), Seattle Pacific 37 (Hoisington 8; Sims 8). Assists -- UAA 8 (Aden 3; Johansson 3), Seattle Pacific 13 (Henderson 5). Turnovers -- UAA 19 (Miller 7), Seattle Pacific 18 (Henderson 4, Maloney 3). Steals -- UAA 7 (Herrin 2, Johnsson 2), Seattle Pacific 10 (Henderson 3). Total fouls -- UAA 26, Seattle Pacific 19. Technical fouls -- None. A -- 551
By RICHARD LARSON
rlarson@adn.com