NAIA DISTRICT 3 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : Fresno Pacific Beats Buzzer, Christ College

Christ College Irvine’s recent dominance of Fresno Pacific ended in an instant Thursday when Fresno forward Andrea Angulo scored at the buzzer to give the Sunbirds a 46-44 victory in the championship game of the NAIA District 3 women’s basketball playoffs at CCI.

Irvine had beaten the Sunbirds the last five times the two teams had played, including three times this season, but the top-seeded Eagles couldn’t overcome Fresno this time.

With the victory, Fresno (21-7) received the district’s automatic berth to the NAIA Division I national tournament March 3-9 in Jackson, Tenn.

Christ College Irvine (25-5), ranked 24th in the nation, also will advance to the national tournament. The Eagles received after the game one of 12 invitations for at-large teams.

With 3 minutes 29 seconds left, CCI took a 42-39 lead on a three-point basket by point guard Stacy Kirch. But after several errant shots by the Eagles, Fresno point guard Tealia Richardson tied the score with a three-pointer of her own and Dana Coats, who scored 15 points, made two free throws to put Fresno ahead with 43 seconds left.

Gitte Mejer, The Eagles’ 6-foot-2 center and the district and conference player of the year, had sent Coats to the line by committing her fifth foul.

With 25 second left, Irvine tied the score on a 12-foot jumper by Jennifer Zylstra, but Fresno had the last shot. Angulo got the ball about 12 feet from the basket, made several fakes, took one dribble and put in a layup moments before the buzzer.

Irvine led most of the game, but the Eagles kept only a shaky grip on their lead, largely because Mejer was in foul trouble. Mejer, who got her fourth foul with 8:25 left, scored 12 points, seven below her average. But the Eagles also shot poorly (38% from the field) and made 23 turnovers. Stacey Giem scored a game-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, for the Eagles.