IRVINE, Calif. -- The 2022 PacWest Championships are set to begin on Thursday in Fresno with Azusa Pacific earning the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with an overall record of 21-3.
Dominican will be the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
Riley Friauf finished the regular season as the PacWest leader in scoring and rebounds. It is the fourth time in the last five years that a Penguin has led the PacWest in scoring and the third time to lead in scoring and rebounding, joining Jerusha Paine and Sandra Ikeora. Friauf has also made 172 free throws this year, which is already tied for the seventh-most in PacWest history for a single season.
Academy of Art is the No. 3 seed after beating Biola and Fresno Pacific last week to finish the regular season with a five-game winning streak.
Brooke Rodgers is the only player for the Urban Knights that has started every game this year, and in the regular season finale, she scored 11 points with seven rebounds to help Academy of Art move up to No. 3 in the standings.
Concordia will be the No. 4 seed in Fresno this week after winning six of its final eight games in the regular season. This is the third time that Concordia has finished in the top-4 in the PacWest standings. Biola will be Concordia’s first round opponent at the PacWest Championships after Biola finished the regular season with a 13-7 record.
Fresno Pacific earned the final berth into the PacWest Championships and will face Azusa Pacific in the first round at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. The Sunbirds defeated Holy Names in the final game of the season to clinch a spot.
Weekly awards for the week of Feb. 21-27
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Michaela VanderKlugt, Concordia
C, Gr., 6-1 -- Concord, Calif.
VanderKlugt earned her 14th PacWest weekly award during her final regular season week of her collegiate career. Those 14 awards are now tied for the most across all sports for a Concordia athlete, equalling the previous record of 14 set by Callie Nunes in softball and the second most in PacWest history, just one behind the record. It was another record-setting week for VanderKlugt, who went 10 for 10 from the field against Holy Names, which is the most field goals made without a miss in a single game in PacWest history. She finished the game with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in just 21 minutes of play. In the regular season finale, she helped the Eagles take Azusa Pacific to overtime with 14 points and 20 rebounds. On the defensive end, she totaled eight steals and three blocks as she helped Concordia earn the No. 4 seed at the PacWest Championships.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Lauryn Manns, Academy of Art
G, Jr., 5-8 -- Corona, Calif.
Manns helped Academy of Art finish the regular season on a five-game winning streak to earn the No. 3 seed at the PacWest Championships. She finished the week with nine steals and three blocks to lead the Urban Knights to wins over Biola and Fresno Pacific, which will put Academy of Art back in position to be considered for a top-10 spot in the NCAA West Region rankings. She opened the week with her second 24-point performance in a row, equaling her season high as she made six steals and two blocks against Biola. Two days later, Manns tallied three more steals and a block against Fresno Pacific. She also had two rebounds, which both game on the defensive end. Manns now has a total of 42 steals and 11 blocks this season. She has recorded at least one block and one steal in three games in a row and has a steal in each of her last 12 games. The Urban Knights will next play against Hawai`i Hilo, against who Manns scored 18 points with five steals and five rebounds.