ANCHORAGE, Alaska –  Two wins in the NCAA Women’s Basketball West Regional opening round set up an all PacWest semifinal this weekend. Point Loma knocked off the top team in the nation and Cal Baptist took down Hawai’i Pacific in a PacWest Championship rematch. The Lancers and Sea Lions will face off in a regional semifinal on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. AKDT.
 
Point Loma 64 –Alaska Anchorage 63
Box Score 
 
In an opening round full of upsets, Point Loma pulled off the biggest of them all. The eight-seeded Sea Lions beat national No. 1 Alaska Anchorage, 64-63, on its home floor in the first-ever NCAA Tournament game for PLNU. The Sea Lions lost a 19-point lead, but came through in the clutch with the final score for a historic upset.
 
Madison West led all scorers with 17 points and Jessica Escorza added 13. Roya Rustamzada had eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
PLNU jumped right on the Seawolves from the start, taking a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes. The Sea Lions stayed hot as a three-pointer and a jumper by Alex Brunk stretched the lead to 31-14. PLNU shot 51.9 percent from the field in the half and made 7-of-10 three-pointers.
 
The Sea Lions maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, until UAA made a final push, using a 14-4 run to pull within two, 62-60, in the final minute. Jenna Buchanan nailed a three-pointer with eight seconds left to give UAA its first lead of the game, 63-62. Rustamzada took the ensuing inbounds the length of the floor in just six seconds for a game-winning layup.
 
California Baptist 77 –Hawai’i Pacific 69
Box Score
 
Less than a week after losing the PacWest Championship final, No. 5 Cal Baptist exacted some revenge over No. 4 Hawai’i Pacific, winning the NCAA matchup, 77-69. Courtney Nelson led CBU with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and Darsha Burnside had 12 rebounds and four blocks. Morganne Comstock had 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four blocks in her final game for HPU.
 
CBU jumped out to a 22-12 lead, fueled by three-straight three-pointers. HPU cut the deficit down to five, but the Lancers answered with three more triples to maintain the double-digit lead, 37-25, at 6:59. HPU cut the lead down to six at the half, 39-33.
 
The Sharks opened the second half with a 14-4 run to take its first lead since the opening bucket, 47-43. After five ties in the next 10 minutes, Nelson made the Lancers’ ninth three-pointer to give them the lead for good, as they closed the game with a 9-1 run.