LA JOLLA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University cut an 18-point first half deficit to just three points with 53 seconds to play, but it wasn't enough to get by No. 8 Alaska Anchorage who won 76-69 in the NCAA Division II Women's West Regional Quarterfinals at UC San Diego's RIMAC Arena on Friday afternoon.
 
The Sharks ended their season at 23-9, while the eighth ranked Seawolves improved to 29-3 and advanced to Saturday's regional semifinals.
 
"We played a heckuva game, but Alaska Anchorage was just a bit better than we were today," said HPU coach Reid Takatsuka. "I'm proud of the how hard we played and the great comeback to get a shot at the end."
 
The Sharks were led by junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt, who collected 18 points with three assists in her third start of the season. Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion added 16 points with four assists and two steals, and senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill doubled-doubled in her final game scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. PacWest Freshman of the Year Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary posted seven points with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
 
The No. 8 Seawolves were paced by Hannah Wandersee with 22 points and six rebounds. Safiyyah Yasin added 11 points, and Yazmeen Goo 10 points. Tennae Voliva led UAA with nine rebounds to go with seven points.
 
The Sharks opened the game on a 7-2 run as Mackenzie started the game hitting the Sharks first shot, Marcucci drained a 3-pointer and Mackenzie added another deuce for the run. HPU made it 9-4 on an jumper in the lane from freshman Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic and forced a timeout from Alaska Anchorage.
 
HPU led by five at 11-6 halfway through the first quarter, but scored only one free throw the rest of the period as the Seawolves closed the quarter on a 13-1 run for a 19-12 lead after the first.
 
Anchorage continued the run into the second quarter, eventually making it a 23-1 run for a 30-12, 18-point lead with 7:24 left in the half. HPU answered in the final 3:30 of the half with a 9-0 run, with Rivera hitting  two free throws and a jumper, Marcucci adding two free throws and Rivera capping it with a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the quarter to end the half with UAA up 37-28.
 
The Seawolves pushed the lead back out to 15 in the third quarter on a Yasin tripled before HPU chipped back and got within four at 49-45 with two minutes left in the third. However, UAA pushed the lead back out to eight at 55-47 when the quarter buzzer sounded.
 
Alaska Anchorage extended the lead to 11 with 6:24 to play when Tara Thompson hit a 3-pointer, but that when HPU made a move. Sophomore Alton McKenzie of Sammamish, Wash./Bellarmine Prep, who came off the bench with nine points,
 hit one-of-two free throws and Rivers followed with a jumper as the Sharks went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to five. Then after two free throws by the Seawolves, HPU held and posted a 4-0 run on four Marcucci free throws to pull within three points at 72-69 with 53 seconds left.
 
Having to foul, the Sharks saw UAA pick up four free throws down the stretch to win by seven at 76-69.
 
The loss ended one of the most successful seasons for the Sharks, one that set many records. Mackenzie, a fifth year senior for the Sharks, fell nine points short of the HPU career scoring record. She finished with 1,485 career points, just missing the record of 1,494 points of Mana Hopkins (2008-12). Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS had to watch the game on the bench after suffering an injury in the PacWest Conference Tournament title game against Azusa Pacific last Saturday.