SEATTLE — The third time was a charm for Daesha Henderson and the Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team.
After making it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II tournament each of the past two years, only to lose at home on both occasions, Henderson’s Falcons finally broke through Monday night. SPU overcame a rough offensive night from its senior star to beat Chico State 76-68, giving the Falcons their first West Region title in five years and a trip to St. Joseph, Mo., for next week’s Elite Eight.
SPU will play a to-be-determined opponent one week from today.
“It’s huge,” Henderson said. “You go to a university, and your goal is to go to national championships and the Elite Eight. A lot of teams don’t get that opportunity.”
Henderson, who led Snohomish High School to the 4A state finals in 2005, had to overcome a rare off-night offensively. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference player of the year had just five points on 1-for-10 shooting but had a team-high five steals to lead a defense that forced 15 Chico State turnovers. After hitting a fastbreak layup 31/2 minutes into the game, Henderson missed her next eight shots.
But the Falcons survived, thanks in large part to the unexpected offensive spark from a fellow Snohomish County product.
Meadowdale graduate Caitlyn Rohrbach came off the bench and scored seven points and added a nifty assist during a 16-2 spurt in the second half, helping SPU pull away. Rohrbach finished with 11 points for the Falcons (27-3).
“Caitlyn was huge,” SPU coach Julie van Beek said. “She pushed us over the top.”
SPU led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Chico used an 18-2 run to rally all the way back and tie the score at 40 early in the second half. The Wildcats’ press was too much for SPU, which turned the ball over on five of its first six possessions of the second half.
But Rohrbach ended that misery by hitting a baseline jumper with the shot clock running down, putting the Falcons ahead 42-40 with 16:22 remaining in the game. That turned out to be the spark SPU needed, as the lead got as big as 56-42 over the next six minutes.
Chico State (23-10) never got closer than eight points until the closing seconds. When the Wildcats had a chance to cut the lead to six with two minutes to play, Henderson blocked a shot out of bounds, stole the inbounds pass and set up a basket at the other end.
Two minutes later, about a dozen fans poured out of the stands to help celebrate at halfcourt before the net-cutting ceremony began. Henderson posed for a few pictures and accepted congratulations from her high school coaches, Ken Roberts and Keith Gilbertson Sr., who were among an announced crowd of 756.
In each of the past two West Region tournaments, SPU hosted but lost to Alaska Anchorage in the region final. The Falcons gained a dose of revenge by dispatching of Anchorage in this year’s region semifinals, then took the final step toward Missouri with Monday night’s win.
“To have the same team beat us on our home court, it’s hard, it hurts,” Henderson said late Monday night. “We knew we had to have a full team effort to get it done.
“It hasn’t really settled in yet that we’re going to the Elite Eight. It’s an incredible feeling.”
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