HAYWARD, Calif. – Despite a setback in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament a week ago, Northwest Nazarene women's basketball has qualified for their fourth NCAA Regional in the last five years as they look to make some noise in the postseason this Friday.
 
The Nighthawks are the seven-seed in the West Regional. Four GNAC teams qualified for the tournament, and in a unique seeding quirk they are all on the bottom half of the regional bracket, so the regional quarterfinal and semifinal will essentially be a rematch of the GNAC tournament.
 
As the seven-seed, NNU will play two-seed and GNAC tournament champion Central Washington on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on Cal State East Bay's campus in Hayward, California. Three-seed Western Washington and six-seed Alaska Anchorage make up the other GNAC pairing in the regional.
 
On the other side of the bracket, East Bay is the host and top seed, facing eight-seed and PacWest tournament champion Academy of Art. Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific round out the regional with the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively.
 
NNU earned the at-large berth after going 12-6 in GNAC play and 18-9 overall. The Nighthawks have won five of their last six and are a combined 3-4 against other teams in the regional, including 2-0 against Western Washington.
 
All games during the regional will feature a live webcast via Cal State East Bay's portal on the CCAA Network.
 
Tickets are available online at this link as well as at the door. Cal State East Bay's ticketing system is completely cashless, so attending fans can pay via credit/debit card online or at the door. Prices are $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors (55+), youth (2-12), and students, and the ticket will get you into any of the four games of the day.
 
Parking permits are required at Cal State East Bay when students, faculty, staff, or visitors are parking their vehicle on campus Mondays -Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can purchase a parking permit at the entrance of Lot A in front of the gym. Parking is $2/hour or $10 for the day.
 
 
Nighthawk Notes
 

• NNU has had two different five-game win streak this year, from Dec. 4 to Jan. 6 and to end the regular season from Feb. 17-26.
• Against GNAC teams not named Alaska Anchorage or Simon Fraser, the Nighthawks went 12-2 in the regular season.
• NNU is just two wins away from winning 20 games in four-straight full seasons.
• The Nighthawks have gone 10-2 at home this year, 7-5 on the road, and 1-2 at neutral sites.
• NNU is 10-3 this season when leading at halftime, 9-4 when they outrebound their opponent, and 11-3 when the force more turnovers than they commit.
• When NNU scores 70 points or more, they are 12-3. When they hold opponents to less than 70 points, they are 12-1.
• NNU is in the top 50 nationally in five categories: 12^th with 418 made free throws, 19^th with 22 turnovers forced per game, 26^th with 11 steals per game, 38^th with 73.0 points per game, and 45^th with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game.
• Teagan Thurman leads the team with 12.6 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game, 11^th and fourth in the GNAC, respectively.
• Nyalam Thabach and Erin Jenkins were both named Second Team All-Conference, with Thabach second on the team at 11.8 points per game and Jenkins third with 11.4 points per game.
• Jordan Pinson earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors, scoring 8.3 points per game and ranking fourth in the GNAC with 3.5 assists per game and sixth with 1.7 steals per game.

 
NCAA Regional History
 

• Since joining Division II in 2001-02, the Nighthawks have qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times (02-03, 05-06, 07-08, 08-09, 12-13, 17-18, 18-19, 19-20, and 21-22).
• NNU is 2-7 all-time in the regional, advancing to the regional semifinals twice in 2003 and 2019.
• The Nighthawks are 1-0 against Humboldt State and 1-1 against Western Washington in regional action.
• NNU is 0-1 against CSU Bakersfield, Chico State, and Simon Fraser in regional action, while losing to Alaska Anchorage in three separate west regionals.

 
NCAA DII WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEST REGIONAL SCHEDULE (all times Pacific)

Friday, Mar. 11 - Quarterfinals
No. 3 Western Washington vs. No. 6 Alaska Anchorage, Noon
No. 2 Central Washington vs. No. 7 Northwest Nazarene, 2:30 p.m.
No. 1 Cal State East Bay vs. No. 8 Academy of Art, 5:00 p.m.
No. 4 Cal State San Marcos vs. No. 5 Azusa Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Mar. 12 - Semifinals
Semifinal Game 1, 5:00 p.m.
Semifinal Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
 
Monday, Mar. 14 - Championship
Championship Game, 5:00 p.m.