Complete Box Score

SEATTLE (March 17) -- Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./ Washington State) led her team in scoring for the third straight postseason game, this time pouring in 24 points, but it was not enough as top-seeded Seattle Pacific University fell to second-seed Cal State Bakersfield 85-80 in the championship game of the NCAA Division II West Regional at Brougham Pavilion Monday night. The loss snaps the Falcons 29-game win streak and 35-game unbeaten stretch at home.

The Falcons (29-1), who finished the regular season atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and ranked No. 1 in the nation with a perfect 27-0 overall record, led by 10 at the half and as much as 12 to begin the second before the Roadrunners (31-1), ranked No. 5 in the country, hit six three-pointers in the second stanza to spur a comeback in the final eight minutes.

Bakersfield's Katie McElree tied the game for the first time at 54 apiece with a three-pointer midway through the second half. The Roadrunners would go another five minutes before they would catch the Falcons again.

Again it was a three-pointer -- this time by Diane Dittburner -- but it meant her team's first lead of the game at 64-63.

The Falcons regained their final lead of the game at 64-63 for 11 seconds with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. A bank shot from just behind the free-throw line by Janelle Mack gave Bakersfield a three- point lead at 5:09. McElree extended the lead to four with her second three-pointer of the game just ten seconds later.

Berglund tied the game at 78 with1:41 remaining on a fall-away jumper from the right side. She missed a free-throw after a foul that would have sealed the three-point play and given her team a one-point advantage.

Conversely, Heather Garay came right back with a similar play -- converting a lay-in while being fouled. She converted her free-throw, however, to give the Runners a three-point advantage with 1:20 remaining.

The Falcons missed five three-point attempts down the stretch while the Runners made two key plays that sealed the victory -- a drive by Jasmer Kirby that led to Berglund's fifth and final foul with 27.6 seconds remaining and a Dittburner block of Kristin Poe's (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) three-point attempt with under 20 seconds left.

Dittburner's two free-throws in the waning seconds gave the Runners all they needed to advance in the tournament.

The first half began with a frentic pace with both teams combining for 51 points in fewer than ten minutes. A dialed-in Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside) sparked the Falcons run in the first stanza with 15 points on three treys and six-for-six shooting from the line.

The first half's hurried pace ground to a halt, however, after the midway point as both teams cooled off. The Runners made the best of the slowdown, pulling to within two points after falling down by as much as seven in the early-going.

Taking advantage of Bakersfield's foul trouble, the Falcons ran out the first half with a 12-4 run to build a ten-point advantage at the half.

Poe joined Urrutia with 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.

Kerie Hughes (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mount Vernon), Berglund and Urrutia were all named to the All-Tournament team, joining Heather Garay who led the Runners with 25 points, Dittburner and Kirby. Garay was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player.

Bakersfield advances to take on South Dakota State March 26 in Saint Joseph, Mo., in a quarterfinal game of the NCAA Division II tournament.

At SPU Brougham Pavilion
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 85, SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 80
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (29-1) Garay, Heather 10-16 5-7 25; Dittburner, Diane 5-13 4-5 19; Kirby, Jasmere 5-11 3-7 13; McElree, Katie 4-9 0-0 10; Lutes, Beccie 1-9 5-8 7; Mack, Janelle 2-6 3-4 7; Mailangi, Ofolangi 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 29-69 20-31 85.
SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY (29-1) Berglund, Kelley 9-14 6-9 24; Poe, Kristin 6-10 2-2 15; Urrutia, Stephanie 3-13 6-6 15; Hughes, Kerie 2-14 3-4 8; Gustafson, Valerie 3-8 1-2 7; Smith, Carli 2-4 2-2 6; Wood, Mandy 2-3 0-0 4; Beaumont, Michelle 0-2 1-2 1; Hermanson, Trisha 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 21-27 80.

Cal State Bakersfield......... 35 50 - 85 
Seattle Pacific University.... 45 35 - 80

3-point goals-Cal State Bakersfield 7-16 (Dittburner, Diane 5-11; McElree, Katie 2-2; Lutes, Beccie 0-2; Kirby, Jasmere 0-1), Seattle Pacific University 5-16 (Urrutia, Stephanie 3-7; Poe, Kristin 1-2; Hughes, Kerie 1-7). Fouled out--Cal State Bakersfield-None, Seattle Pacific University-Berglund, Kelley. Rebounds-Cal State Bakersfield 38 (Garay, Heather 12), Seattle Pacific University 53 (Poe, Kristin 10). Assists-Cal State Bakersfield 19 (Lutes, Beccie 7), Seattle Pacific University 19 (Hughes, Kerie 5). Total fouls-Cal State Bakersfield 20, Seattle Pacific University 23. A-1581