Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
AZUSA, Calif. – Just play.
 
When they came out of halftime on Friday afternoon, that was the gist of the advice the Seattle Pacific Falcons had from head coach Julie Heisey.
 
Just play.
 
They took that advice and erased most of what had been a 16-point deficit.
 
But not quite all of it.
 
Rachel Shim scored 14 points, helping the Falcons climb back into the game before UC San Diego gradually pulled away in the late stages for a 64-51 victory in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional women's basketball tournament.
 
The loss in Felix Event Center on the campus of Azusa Pacific University ended SPU's season at 23-8.

 

"You have to score more than 51 points to win a regional game," Heisey said. "It's a bummer – we did a lot of things really well and just couldn't get the ball to fall. We had good looks, but they just didn't go in the first half, and especially in the first quarter (just 3 of 19).
 
"You try to relax and you miss, and then you wonder if you're going to make them again."
 
Senior point guard Shim was the only player in double figures for SPU. Senior center Julia Haining added eight points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Jordan McPhee had seven points, and senior forward Courtney Hollander finished with six.
 
After scoring just 17 in the first half on Friday, SPU pumped in 34 in the second half, coming as close as three at 36-33 late in the third quarter.
 
"In the second half, it was a lot better being able to adjust and set a lot more ball screens, and we were able to get to the rim more," Shim said. "I'm super proud of the way our team responded. We've all been able to see growth in all of us in a tough stretch like that. When we're down, we're able to come together and say, 'OK, let's close this gap.' And we did that."
 
Seattle Pacific was hampered by cold shooting from the outset of the game and wound up hitting just 30.8 percent (20 of 65). Its first three shots of the day missed before McPhee scooped a lay-in off the backboard for a 2-2 tie.
 
But that was the only deadlock of the game, and the Falcons never led. A six-minute SPU scoring drought in the second quarter allowed the Tritons to expand an 18-11 lead to 27-11.

 

The Falcons responded with an 11-0 run of their own, including a shot by Shim from behind the midcourt line that banked in at the halftime buzzer to cut the margin to 10 at 27-17.
 
Late in the third quarter, Seattle Pacific got back within three at 36-33. UCSD's Marcella Hughes answered that with five straight points: a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and a 12-footer from the right corner.
 
The Tritons took a 41-33 lead into the final quarter. SPU was still down just six at 53-47 with 2:22 left. UC San Diego put it out of reach with a 6-0 run that made it 59-47 with just 1:01 to go.
 
"San Diego, they know how to win," Heisey said. "I thought we came out in the second half more relaxed, and we played better. … I just told our kids to play. I told them we do this every day, we know how to get shots. I tried to get away from calling so many plays like I did in the first half and give it more to them. And I think they did a good job with that."

 

The Falcons shut down leading Tritons scorer Mikayla Williams, limiting her to just five points, 10 below her 15.5 average. The also put the defensive clamps on second-leading scorer Dalayna Sampton, keeping her at 8, six less than her 14.4 average.
 
But Kayla Sato made up for that. The 5-foot-8 junior guard, in her first year with UCSD after transferring from Westmont College, poured in a career-high 28 points. That was more than double her 12.6 average, and well ahead of her previous best of 20, which she reached on multiple occasions. Sato drained 9 of 22 from the floor (2 of 5 from downtown), 8 of 14 from the foul line, and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds.
 
Even in the disappointment of the Friday's loss, Heisey found solace in the fact that the Falcons still won 23 games, including an early-season contest against UC San Diego, 65-59.
 
"We played a hard schedule and beat a lot of really good teams," she said. "This game doesn't define us at all. The thing I loved about this team is we had a desire to be the best. We were very coachable, and I trusted them. We did some tough things defensively, and they were able to do what we asked."
 
UC San Diego (28-4) advanced to the regional semifinals and will face No. 7 seed Montana State Billings, a 76-6 upset winner against Pacific West Conference co-champion and No. 2 seed Hawaii Pacific on Friday.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The Tritons had a decided edge at the foul line, 19 of 26, although nine of those came in the final 90 seconds when SPU was forced to foul. The Falcons hit 8 of 9 from the line.
-- SPU's all-time record in 18 NCAA Tournaments is now 26-18, including 13-5 in the first round.
 
  
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Division II West Regionals
Friday, March 9, 2018
Felix Event Center / Azusa, Calif.
 
UC San Diego 64, Seattle Pacific 51
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (23-8)
Shim 5-11 2-2 14, McPhee 2-9 3-4 7, Haining 3-5 2-2 8, Hollander 3-11 0-0 6, Lee 1-4 0-0 2, Evans 1-4 0-0 3, Albert 1-5 0-0 2, Pagano 1-9 1-1 3, Rataushk 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 20-65 8-9 51.
 
UC SAN DIEGO (28-4)
Tanita 2-4 4-4 10, Yang 0-6 2-2 2, Sampton 4-7 0-0 8 Sato 9-22 8-14 28, Williams 1-4 3-4 5, Hughes 3-5 0-0 7, Sharp 0-1 -0 0, Armao 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 20-55 19-26 64.
 
Seattle Pacific       7           10           16           18           -- 51
UC San Diego        16           11           14           23           -- 64
 
3-point goals – SPU 3-16 (Shim 2-5, McPhee 0-1, Hollander 0-2, Lee 0-2, Evns 1-5, Albert 0-1), UCSD 5-15 (Tanita 2-3, Yang 0-3, Sto 2-5, Hughes 1-3, Sharp 0-1). Fouled out – SPU: McPhee, Haining. Rebounds – SPU 34 (Haining 5, Lee 5), UCSD 47 (Sampton 12). Assists – SPU 10 (Shim 4), UCSD 6 (Hughes 3). Turnovers – SPU 10, UCSD 13. Total fouls – SPU 22, UCSD 17. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 292.