LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team, coming off a spectacular run to its first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title, received the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region on Sunday night.

The Golden Eagles (24-6) will face No. 4 seed Vanguard (24-5) on Friday in a first-round contest at regional host Central Washington. Cal State LA will be making its third NCAA appearance in the past four seasons and will be carrying some heavy momentum with them. As the No. 3 seed in the CCAA Tournament, the Golden Eagles dispatched No. 6 Cal State Monterey Bay (74-40), No. 2 seed Cal Poly Humboldt (87-55) and No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona (78-62) by a combined 82 points 

The Golden Eagles' first-round opponent, Vanguard, also rides the momentum of a conference title after posting double-digit wins over Westmont and Azusa Pacific in the PacWest Conference Tournament.at Point Loma. The Lions will be making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in their first year of Division II eligibility.

Central Washington earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the regional. The Wildcats will face Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champion Montana-State Billings, the No. 8 seeds, in a first-round game. The winners of the Cal State LA-Vanguard and Central Washington-Montana State Billings games will meet in the semifinals on Saturday. The regional championship game is on Monday, March 16.

No. 2 seed Western Washington will face No. 7 seed Pt. Loma and No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona will face No. 6 seed Azusa Pacific in the other first-round contests.

Cal State LA will be making its fifth NCAA appearance and the Golden Eagles will be looking to add another piece of history to an already historic season. The Golden Eagles are 0-4 in four previous appearances, including close losses to Azusa Pacific in 2024 (66-60) in Azusa and to Montana State Billings (69-66) in 2023 at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Cal State LA's only other two appearances came in 2012 (a 65-56 loss to Alaska Anchorage) and 2006 (an 82-77 loss to Cal State Bakersfield).

The Golden Eagles have already set new program marks for wins in a season (24), conference wins (18) and longest winning streak (15). Cal State LA also got its first CCAA Player of the Year and CCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player in Nevaeh Asiasi. Cal State LA's Sofia Fidelus poured in a game-high 27 points in the win over Cal Poly Pomona and joined Asiasi on the All-Tournament Team.