Energized teams meet in D-II title game

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Before playing today at Summit Arena for the NCAA Division II women's basketball championship, Seattle Pacific and Washburn (Kan.) took a timeout yesterday to savor the experience.

"This enables us to energize ourselves after last night," said SPU coach Gordy Presnell, whose Falcons downed Merrimack 73-64 in a semifinal game on Thursday. "This is different than being in the dressing room after the game and thinking about the next day's game. After practice, we'll start getting ready for Washburn."

While Seattle Pacific (30-2) led much of the way against Merrimack, Washburn's 69-67 semifinal victory over Central Arkansas came down to the last shot. Despite fouling Carone Harris on a tying four-point play in the final minute, Cindy Keeley regained the lead for Washburn with a layup, and the Blues forced Harris into a difficult shot that bounced off the rim as time expired.

Washburn coach Ron McHenry also welcomed a chance yesterday to catch his breath before the 34-2 Blues face Seattle Pacific at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.

It's the first Elite Eight championship game for both teams — second-ranked Washburn, which has 18 consecutive victories since Jan. 22, and third-ranked Seattle Pacific, which was won 11 straight since Feb. 10.

"Both of us have had unbelievable years, which reflects the spirit of competition," McHenry said. "Each team has unbelievable players, so there will be no losers (today) in that sense."

This season, the Falcons cleared the opening hurdle with a 67-55 victory Wednesday over Grand Valley State, then beat Merrimack despite blowing a 14-point lead in the first half.

Merrimack went up 57-56 before junior guard Mandy Wood's three-point basket with 5:39 left put SPU ahead to stay. The Falcons preserved their edge with clutch free-throw shooting, scoring eight of their last 10 from the line in the last 1:56 of the game.

"We've been down by double digits before and come back," said SPU senior guard Amy Taylor, "so when Merrimack went ahead by one, we came together in the huddle and decided we weren't going to lose. That showed the strength of character of our team and coach."

Coming out flat against Central Arkansas in the semis, Washburn trailed 24-19 after UCA seniors Harris and Micaela Thomas each made two free throws following a technical foul against Washburn's All-American center, Carla Sintra.

The Blues scored the next seven points, going up 26-24 on a three by senior guard Lora Westling, and eventually led by as many as eight in the second half. Sintra led the Blues with 19 points, and Westling added 16.

Jennifer Harris, Washburn's leading scorer averaging 14.4 points per game, played only 11 minutes before leaving in the first half with a lower back injury. The guard was to receive treatment yesterday, and her status for the championship game is uncertain. The 5-10 Harris scored a game-high 26 points in Washburn's 73-60 quarterfinal victory over Charleston (W.Va.) Wednesday.

"In five years at Washburn, this is one of the most resilient groups I've had," McHenry said. "We got frustrated and really let the (partisan UCA) crowd affect us before we settled down."

Keeley's deciding layup with 14 seconds left helped the sophomore guard atone for a foul against Harris three seconds earlier that allowed Central Arkansas to tie the score.

"I was surprised on the layup that no one was around me," said Keeley, bettering her 2.6 season average with seven points against UCA. "Carla was behind me and the defense stayed with her, so I just took the shot.

"The foul (immediately before the layup) was just dumb. When you're in a national semifinal game, that's a huge range of emotion."

The two finalists feature basically homegrown rosters — Seattle Pacific has 11 players from Washington, and Washburn with nine from Kansas. Both teams have Elite Eight experience, but neither has faced such a glaring spotlight.

"We hope that experience carries us a long way," McHenry said. "We have four great seniors and great leadership. I know a lot of us expected us to be here, so we feel fortunate to be here."

Said Presnell: "A year ago we were happy to be here. This year, we need to come with a purpose and continue to play hard."