NCAA Women's Basketball West Region Championship Tournament Final:
No. 1 SPU Women Down Pomona in West Final, Advance to Elite Eight
March 15, 2004

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Complete Box Score

SEATTLE (March 15) ­ Amy Taylor pumped in 21 points as top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Seattle Pacific University earned the NCAA Division II West regional championship with an 80-63 win over Cal Poly Pomona before a record crowd of 1,598 in Brougham Pavilion Monday night.

Amy Taylor driving to the bucket during Monday night's West Regional championship win over Cal Poly Pomona. Taylor provided the spark at crucial times during the second half. (Photo courtesy Dan Carver, SPU athletics)

The Falcons (30-0) pulled away in the final 10 minutes to earn their second trip to the Elite Eight and their first since 1998. SPU will play South Central champion and No. 2 Drury (Mo.) in the quarterfinal round Mar. 24 in Saint Joseph, Mo.

Taylor (Jr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood-Oregon) scored 15 of her game-high 21 in the final 10 minutes and had a career-high tying 10 assists. She was joined in double figures by Valerie Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills), who had 14 points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Kristin Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) and Michelle Beaumont (Jr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) each chipped in 10 points for SPU.

After Cal Poly Pomona (23-7) whittled a 19-point first-half deficit to 55-51, Taylor sparked a decisive run by Seattle Pacific. She connected on back-to-back three-pointers and scored eight unanswered points to make it 63-51. The Broncos got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Taylor made 5-11 treys and sank six straight free throws in the final stages. She had 25 assists and only two turnovers in the three-game tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. The Falcons made a school-record tying 12 treys out of 20 attempts.

“I hadn’t shot the ball real well in the first two games,” said Taylor, who sang the national anthem prior to the game. “The coaches kept telling me they had confidence in me. They went in and I just thank the Lord.”

Yes, the Falcons are No. 1, with the West Regional win over Cal Poly Pomona. SPU returns to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1998. (Photo courtesy Dan Carver, SPU athletics)

In the first half, Pomona took its only lead at 8-7 with 15:12 to play before Taylor hit back-to-back threes to start a 17-1 SPU run over the next 4:06 span to push the margin to 24-9. The Falcons took their largest lead of the half at 38-19 with 2:43 to play, but the Broncos outscored SPU 13-2 to end the half and trailed 41-32 going into the lockerroom.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Poe, who also made the all-tournament team. “The best part about it is that such it’s an incredible group of people. Everything has just been clicking and it finally came together at the right time.”

“What makes it so great is that we were the only team in the league without a returning all-conference player,” said Coach Gordy Presnell. “They took the ‘team thing’ from the beginning and ran with it.”

Brittney Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) broke the single-season school record for blocks, which was set by Caroline Pfeil in 30 games in 1989-90. Kroon rejected seven shots and also had seven points and seven rebounds.

The 30th win is also a new SPU mark. Their last loss came in the regional championship game a year ago.

Also voted to the all-tournament team were Cal Poly Pomona’s Candice Allen and Keila Beachem and Western Washington’s Tessa DeBoer.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 80, CAL POLY POMONA 63
CAL POLY POMONA (23-7) LATTIN, Marisa 8-13 3-4 20; ALLEN, Candice 5-18 6-7 16; WILLIAMS, Jaida 4-5 0-2 8; BEACHEM, Keila 2-17 3-4 7; SWANSON-CADES, Tami 2-5 2-3 6; FLETCHER, Brandi 2-3 2-2 6; WILSON, Alexis 0-1 0-0 0; GATDULA, Rachel 0-1 0-0 0; FERGUSON, Khiara 0-1 0-0 0; PERKINS, Shanika 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-68 16-22 63.
SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY (30-0) Taylor, Amy 5-14 6-6 21; Gustafson, Valerie 7-10 0-1 14; Poe, Kristin 3-10 2-2 10; Beaumont, Michelle 2-5 4-4 10; Wood, Mandy 3-3 0-0 9; Kroon, Brittney 3-7 1-5 7; Smith, Carli 2-3 1-2 5; Soule, Anna 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 25-53 18-26 80.

3-point goals-Cal Poly Pomona 1-8 (LATTIN, Marisa 1-4; ALLEN, Candice 0-1; BEACHEM, Keila 0-1; PERKINS, Shanika 0-2), Seattle Pacific University 12-20 (Taylor, Amy 5-11; Wood, Mandy 3-3; Beaumont, Michelle 2-3; Poe, Kristin 2-3). Fouled out--Cal Poly Pomona-None, Seattle Pacific University-None. Rebounds-Cal Poly Pomona 44 (BEACHEM, Keila 11), Seattle Pacific University 35 (Kroon, Brittney 7). Assists-Cal Poly Pomona 14 (SWANSON-CADES, Tami 6), Seattle Pacific University 22 (Taylor, Amy 10). Total fouls-Cal Poly Pomona 21, Seattle Pacific University 16. A-1598