POMONA, Ca. (March 10)-Burgundie Porter's lay up with :01 remaining lifted 12th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona over 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific University 63-62 in the championship game of the NCAA West Region Tournament at Kellogg Gymnasium. The Broncos (24-3) advance to the Elite Eight in Rochester, Minnesota, March 21-24 while Seattle Pacific ends its season at 24-5.

In the first period, Cal Poly Pomona jumped out to a 10-0 lead behind a pair of treys and a short jumper by Porter. The junior guard scored nine of the Broncos' first 11 points.

Seattle Pacific went scoreless for the first five minutes of the game until Stacie Lukkes (So., Kent, Wa.) put back a missed trey by Brianne Prescott (Jr., San Jose, Ca.) to make it 10-2. The Falcons took their first lead at the 8:20 mark when Jana Holme (Sr., Tacoma, Wa.) rebounded and scored a missed jumper by Stephanie Urrutia (So., Sunnyside, Wa.). The lead changed hands twice more before intermission.

The Broncos went into the locker room with a 26-25 advantage.

Valerie Gustafson (Fr., Olympia, Wa.) scored seven of her team high 13 points in the first period for SPU.

LaTasha Burnett opened up the second period with a pair of free throws to give Pomona a 28-25 advantage, but the Falcons went on a 10-3 run behind a pair of jumpers by Liz Guppy (Sr., Beaverton, Or.) to take a 35-31 lead.

The lead changed hands several times and with the score knotted at 51-51 with 6:59 to play, the Broncos' Laurie McIntosh hit a short jumper from the right side to give the Broncos a 51-49 lead.

Seattle Pacific would not succumb. With 1:29 remaining and the Falcons down two, 59-61, Kerie Hughes (So., Mount Vernon, Wa.) drove to the bucket from the left side and was fouled. Hughes made the lay up and hit the ensuing free throw to put SPU up 62-61.

Hughes, back after missing eight games with a torn anterior cruciate in her left knee, was the Falcons' second leading scorer with 11 points. The injured point guard also assisted on four plays.

After Hughes' three-point play, the Broncos brought the ball down court and Urrutia batted it out of bounds on a Pomona entry pass to post Aprile Powell. Hughes stole the inbounds pass and Head Coach Gordy Presnell called a time-out.

With :36 remaining in the game and 29 seconds left on the play clock, the Falcons ran the shot clock down to seven seconds before Hughes took a jumper from the left side that bounced off the rim.

Powell grabbed the rebound and passed to Porter, who drove the length of the court and hit the game winning lay up with :01 remaining. Seattle Pacific called a time-out, but did not get a good look at the basket.

Presnell summed up the last 30 seconds:

"We tried to hold on to the ball and then take a shot with a few seconds left on the shot clock. We shot it too early and missed."

Presnell speculated, "This was our third West Region final in the last five years. I was so proud of our team. Val (Gustafson) was so solid and Kerie (Hughes) played so well. To have been out for so long and then rehab her knee so she could help us out in playoffs and then have surgery two weeks after takes some real resolve."

The Falcons end the season ranked No. 19 NCAA Division II.

GAME RESULTS: Cal Poly Pomona 63, Seattle Pacific 62.

SPU:
Holme 2, Balogh 8, Guppy 4, Prescott 4, Urrutia 8, Beard, Hughes 11, Daniel 6, Lukkes 6, Gustafson 13.

CPU:
Porter 15, McIntosh 8, Powell 14, Burnett 6, James 11, Sherman, Faucett, Richards 9, Kennedy, Rasheed, Bergeson, Modin