LA JOLLA, Calif. - After recording an overall record of 25-4 and winning a second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title, the UC San Diego women's basketball team was awarded the No. 2 seed in the 2010 NCAA Division II West Regional field, it was announced Sunday. The Tritons will face No. 7 seed Humboldt State on Friday, March 12 at Seattle Pacific's Royal Brougham Pavilion. Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.
"We're extremely happy to continue playing and begin the next phase of the season," head coach Charity Elliott said. "Records don't mean anything at this point and we know what we've got to do to be successful. We're looking forward to traveling to Seattle and facing an opponent we obviously know well in Humboldt State."
UCSD will square off with Humboldt State in a rematch of Friday's CCAA Tournament Semifinal, which the Lumberjacks won 82-78 on their home floor in Arcata. HSU went on to defeat Chico State 85-55 to claim the tournament championship and earn the CCAA's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 64.
The winner of Friday's Triton-Lumberjack clash will advance to meet the winner of No. 3 seed Western Washington (22-4) and sixth-seeded Chico State (21-9).
Friday's other two West Region opening round contests will feature host and top-seeded Seattle Pacific (21-3) against No. 8 Hawaii Pacific (16-6) and
No. 4 Alaska Anchorage
(21-4) and No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona (22-6).
The Tritons will have plenty of motivation in their NCAA Tournament opener, facing the only team to defeat them twice this season. UCSD had won three straight, including a 73-48 rout of Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round of the CCAA Tournament on Tuesday, before falling to Humboldt State on Friday. The Tritons split the regular season series with the Lumberjacks, losing an 84-80 decision in Arcata in the first meeting on January 21, before posting a convincing 86-51 triumph to conclude the regular season on February 26.
Humboldt State enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 19-10 following its run to the program's first CCAA Tournament Championship. The Lumberjacks finished tied for fourth in the conference at 14-8 and have won three straight overall.
UCSD owns a 6-5 record in five previous NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 2007. The Tritons edged Cal State Dominguez Hills, 66-65, in the opening round last season, but lost a 52-49 decision to Alaska Anchorage in round two. The NCAA West Regional has been held on the SPU campus each of the last three years.
The Tritons will open West Regional play against the CCAA Tournament Champion for the second year in a row after Cal State Dominguez Hills claimed the title in 2009.
