Four CCAA teams make D2 playoffs
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Four California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) teams were named to the 64-team NCAA Tournament field that was announced by the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Committee on Sunday. Twenty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualifiers and the remaining 43 were at-large selections.
CCAA Tournament and regular-season champion Chico State earned the conference’s automatic berth, while Cal State San Bernardino, UC San Diego and Sonoma State were at-large selections. All four teams will compete in the NCAA Division II West Regional scheduled for March 14-17 at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.
The Wildcats (27-5) enter regional play as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 seed Northwest Nzarene (19-8) on Friday beginning at 1:30 p.m. No. 6 seed Sonoma State (20-8) and No. 3 Alaska Anchorage (26-4) will open the regional with an 11:30 a.m. contest.
No. 4 UC San Diego (24-9) and No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino (21-7) are scheduled to tip-off at 4:30 p.m. while top-seed and host Seattle Pacific (27-0) will entertain Saint Martin’s (17-10) at 6:30 p.m.
The first-round winners will advance to the semifinals scheduled for Saturday with start times of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The regional final will be played on Monday beginning at 6 p.m.
The regional champions will advance to the NCAA Women’s Elite Eight March 26, 27 and 29 at the Health and Sports Center in Kearney, Nebraska. University of Nebraska at Kearney will host the Elite Eight.
2008 NCAA Division II West Regional
Women’s Basketball Championships
Mar. 14, 15 & 17 – Seattle, Wash. (Royal Brougham Pavilion)
All times ADT
First Round – Friday, Mar. 14
No. 3 Alaska Anchorage (26-4) vs. No. 6 Sonoma State (20-8), 11:30 a.m.
No. 2 Chico State (27-5) vs. No. 7 Northwest Nazarene (19-8), 1:30 p.m.
No. 4 UC San Diego (24-9) vs. No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino (21-7), 4:30 p.m.
No. 1 Seattle Pacific (27-0) vs. No. 8 Saint Martin’s (17-10), 6:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, Mar. 15
Chico St./NNU winner vs. UAA/SSU winner, 4 pm
UCSD/CSUSB winner vs SPU/SMU winner, 6 pm
Finals – Monday, Mar. 17
Leave a comment