Complete Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wa. (Mar. 10) ­ Mandy Wood scored 16 points, including a critical 3-pointer with 1:14 to play, helping Seattle Pacific University defeat 23rd-ranked UC San Diego, 62-57, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium Friday night.

The Falcons (23-5), the No.5 seed in the region, advance to face host Western Washington who defeated Northwest Nazarene 66-54 in the quarterfinal round nightcap. Tip is 7:00 p.m. SPU has now won 16 of its last 17 games.

UC San Diego, which finished at 23-5, was led by the 21 points of regional player of the year Leora Juster.

The Falcons led by just one, 55-54, after UCSD guard Kim Buffum hit a 3-pointer with 1:40 to go, but Wood (Sr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) responded at the other end, nailing a trey of her own near the end of the shot clock that put Seattle Pacific up by four, 58-54, with 1:14 left. The Tritons never had a potential game-tying possession after that.

Center Brittney Kroon (Sr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) had 12 points and eight rebounds for SPU Carli Grant (Sr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) had 11 points and nine rebounds, and reserved forward Rachel Strand (Jr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King's) added 11 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field.

"We didn't shoot well but it was a well-played game," said SPU coach Julie van Beek. "We struggled by not hitting threes early, so I challenged them to get the ball inside.

"Brittney had some big shots, and although Mandy didn't shoot well, she made some big shots toward the end," added van Beek. "But really, I thought it was our bigs, our rebounding and especially defense which made the difference."

Wood scored seven of the Falcons' final eight points. Seattle Pacific never trailed in the second half, but the score was tied five times, the last at 46-46 with 4:42 to play.

Briana Hinga had 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for UC San Diego.

Both teams shot poorly in the opening half, with the Falcons hitting 29.0 percent (9-of-31) from the field and the Tritons 24.3 percent (9-of-37). Seattle Pacific scored five of the last six points in the period and held a 25-21 lead at halftime.

SPU, the two-time defending West champion, has now won seven straight regional games over three seasons.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 62, UC SAN DIEGO 57

SEATTLE PACIFIC (23-5) Wood,Mandy 5-18 3-4 16; Kroon,Brittney 3-7 6-8 12; Strand,Rachael 4-5 2-2 11; Grant,Carli 5-10 1-4 11; Fielding,Autumn 2-8 0-0 6; Poe,Jenny 2-7 0-0 4; Christensen,Beth 1-3 0-0 2; Hill,Kelsey 0-3 0-0 0; Menkens,Jessie 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-64 12-18 62.

UC SAN DIEGO (23-5) Juster, Leora 8-25 4-5 21; Hinga, Briana 8-14 0-0 16; Buffum, Kim 3-9 0-0 9; Hansen, Hillary 2-8 0-0 4; Gaskin, Alexis 1-3 1-2 3; Anderson, Katie 1-3 0-0 2; Osier, Michelle 1-5 0-0 2; Futalan, Diahnn 0-0 0-0 0; Noud, Meaghan 0-2 0-0 0; Mezzetta, Alexis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-70 5-7 57.

Halftime-SPU 25, UCSD 21. 3-point goals-SPU 6-23 (Wood,Mandy 3-12; Fielding,Autumn 2-6; Strand,Rachael 1-1; Christensen,Beth 0-1; Menkens,Jessie 0-3), UCSD 4-16 (Buffum, Kim 3-9; Juster, Leora 1-4; Anderson, Katie 0-1; Noud, Meaghan 0-1; Mezzetta, Alexis 0-1). Fouled out-- None. Rebounds-SPU 46 (Hill,Kelsey 10), UCSD 47 (Hinga, Briana 14). Assists-SPU 17 (Fielding,Autumn 4), UCSD 11 (Juster, Leora 7). Total fouls-SPU 12, UCSD 17. A-515