The Falcons Online -- Seattle Pacific University Athletics

NCAA Women's Basketball West Region Final:
Seattle Pacific Defeats Chico State, 85-70
March 14, 2005

Courtesy Bob Guptill, GNAC Media Relations Office

SEATTLE, WA - Tournament MVP Mandy Wood scored 17 points and also had six assists and four steals to lead Seattle Pacific to a 85-70 win over Chico State in the NCAA Division II Women's West Regional basketball championship game Monday night at Brougham Pavilion.

Carli Smith (#4) launching a jumper in the West Region final -- a win over Chico State. Carli led the Falcons in scoring with 17 on the night. Photo by Dan Carver, SPU athletics

SPU will now advance to the NCAA Women's Division II Elite Eight, which begins Mar. 23 at Hot Springs, Ark. The Falcons will play Great Lakes Region champion Grand Valley State in the quarterfinals.

The Falcons, who will be making their second straight Elite Eight appearance, trailed just once (7-4) following a three-pointer by Kim Abts with 15:59 left in the first half, but then ran off 12 straight points to take command.

Chico climbed back within three points (20-17) with 8:50 left in the half, but the Falcons then scored the next seven points and eventually built a 15-point lead before settling for a 41-29 lead at halftime. In the second half, Chico was never able to get closer than eight points and trailed by as many as 18 as the Falcons secured their 31st consecutive home win and their 66th in their last 67 contests at Brougham Pavilion.

Wood, who had 11 points in the crucial first half, led six players in double figures for Seattle Pacific (28-2). Also contributing offensively to SPU's balanced attack were Carli Smith and Jenny Poe with 14 points, Amy Taylor with 13, Brittney Kroon with 11 and Michelle Beaumont with 10. Smith recorded a double-double pulling down 13 rebounds, while Taylor had a game-high seven assists.

Haley Ford led Chico with 19 points, Kara Scheitlin had 18 and Abts had 14, but Lauren Himmelspach, who scored 63 points in the Wildcats' first two tournament games, was held to nine points, converting on only three of 13 shots. Himmelspach, however, did have seven rebounds and six steals. Ford and Amber Simmons each had 10 rebounds for Chico, which finished its season with a record of 24-6.

Joining Wood on the all-tournament team were Smith and Taylor, both from Seattle Pacific; Abts and Himmelspach of Chico and Courtney Clapp of Western Washington, who scored 55 points in the Vikings' two tournament games.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 85, CHICO STATE 70
CHICO STATE (24-6) Ford, Haley 7-15 3-4 19; Scheitlin, Kara 8-12 2-3 18; Abts, Kim 5-16 1-1 14; Himmelspach, Lauren 3-13 3-4 9; Spencer, Audriana 1-5 2-2 4; Simmons, Amber 1-7 2-4 4; Panttaja, Maija 0-5 2-2 2; Van Hollebeke, Amy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-74 15-20 70.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (28-2) Wood,Mandy 5-13 5-6 17; Smith,Carli 5-10 4-5 14; Poe,Jenny 5-6 4-4 14; Taylor,Amy 5-13 2-3 13; Kroon,Brittney 5-10 1-2 11; Beaumont,Michelle 4-10 0-0 10; Strand,Rachel 2-3 0-0 4; Brewe,Quinn 1-4 0-0 2; Christensen,Jessie 0-0 0-0 0; Christensen,Beth 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-70 16-20 85.

Chico State............. 29 41 - 70 
Seattle Pacific ........ 41 44 - 85

3-point goals-Chico State 5-22 (Abts, Kim 3-8; Ford, Haley 2-7; Himmelspach, Lauren 0-2; Spencer, Audriana 0-2; Panttaja, Maija 0-3), Seattle Pacific University 5-18 (Beaumont,Michelle 2-3; Wood,Mandy 2-8; Taylor,Amy 1-7). Fouled out--Chico State-Ford, Haley; Panttaja, Maija, Seattle Pacific University-None. Rebounds-Chico State 47 (Simmons, Amber 10; Ford, Haley 10), Seattle Pacific University 45 (Smith,Carli 13). Assists-Chico State 17 (Abts, Kim 5), Seattle Pacific University 26 (Taylor,Amy 7). Total fouls-Chico State 18, Seattle Pacific University 18. A-1325