BOX SCORE

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific women’s basketball sent shock waves through the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships bracket on Saturday night by eliminating undefeated UC San Diego on its home floor with a 64-61 win against the No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Regional semifinals.
 
The Cougars led for all of the final 26 minutes of the game and got a pair of big plays from Daylee Hanson and Samantha Huddleston in the final minute to hold onto that lead and knock out the No. 2 team in the nation. They advance to play No. 3 seed Alaska Anchorage in the championship game on Monday night in RIMAC Arena for a spot in the Elite Eight.
 
No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific led by as much as 14, but UC San Diego made three 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game to suddenly cut that lead all the way down to just two points at 59-57 in the final minute of the game. On the next possession, Daylee Hanson came down with a crucial offensive rebound and then made a lay-up to push the lead back to four with 24 seconds left in the game.
 
UC San Diego scored two free throws on the other end of the floor to make the score 61-59 before fouling Huddleston with 10 seconds left in the game. The senior made both free throws to make it a two-possession game and secure the victory.
 
“There’s something you need to know,” Azusa Pacific head coach TJ Hardeman said after Azusa Pacific advanced to its first ever NCAA West Regional final. “At the end of every practice, Samantha has to make 10 free throws in a row, so when we knew they were going to foul, I made sure she was in the game to be the one to get fouled.”
 
Laura Pranger made the biggest difference for Azusa Pacific in the victory as the centerpiece to Azusa Pacific’s zone defense. It wasn’t until there was 6:31 left in the third quarter that UC San Diego made its first two-point field goal of the entire game. It was also the first time in the game that West Region Player of the Year Mikayla Williams got on the board.
 
UC San Diego scored all of its points in the first half from beyond the arc, making eight 3-pointers for 24 points as the Cougars led 32-24 at halftime. The Tritons rushed out to a 9-2 lead with good ball movement to find open shooters, but Azusa Pacific began to close get to those open shooters and shut them down. For the first six minutes of the second quarter, the Tritons didn’t score a single point, and Azusa Pacific outscored UC San Diego, 19-6.
 
The Tritons did not get anything for free inside the arc, making only 6 of 30 two-point field goals and Azusa Pacific blocked 11 of those 24 misses. Pranger finished with a game-high six blocks.
 
“Trusting our teammates is very important for our defense,” Daylee Hanson said. “I know that if someone gets by me that Laura is right there.”
 
“I don’t think they’ve had to face someone like Laura this year,” Hardeman added. “She had six blocks and there were many other shots that were changed because of her length.”
 
Daylee Hanson led the Cougars’ offense with 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Savanna Hanson added nine points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Pranger finished with nine points and eight rebounds to go with her six blocks and two steals.
 
Azusa Pacific will be competing in its first NCAA West Regional final on Monday, while Alaska Anchorage is back into the final for the third time in the last four years. The Seawolves finished runner-up last year after losing to Montana State Billings in last year’s final, which was hosted by Azusa Pacific University.