AZUSA, Calif. -- After claiming the Pacific West Conference regular-season championship for the third time in four years while finishing as the PacWest Tournament runner-up, the Azusa Pacific women's basketball team received its third invitation in four years to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball West Regional Championship.

The tournament will be hosted by undefeated No. 1-seed UC San Diego, which went 26-0 in the regular season before winning three straight in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament. UC San Diego defeated Cal Poly Pomona in the CCAA championship game, and Azusa Pacific's first-round opponent is the CCAA runner-up Cal Poly Pomona.

Azusa Pacific is the No. 4-seed and the Cougars' first-round opponent is No. 5-seeded CCAA runner-up Cal Poly Pomona. The teams, whose home gyms measure just seven miles apart, met head-to-head in the second game this season, a 74-70 victory for Azusa Pacific. 

The Cougars are 4-3 this year against the West Region participants, posting the early-season win over Cal Poly Pomona while suffering a home defeat to Northwest Nazarene, which is the No. 3-seed. Azusa Pacific was 2-0 in PacWest games against No. 8-seeded Dominican and split the regular-season series with Hawai'i Pacific before falling to the Sharks in the PacWest title game.

Azusa Pacific previously made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016 and 2018, and the Cougars are 1-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.