WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (Nov. 14) – The No. 5 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team opened the season with a 76-67 victory over Notre Dame (Ohio) in the West Liberty Conference Challenge on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Vulcans open the season 1-0 for the third time under head coach
Jess Strom. Meanwhile, the Falcons fall to 0-1 to start the year.
Junior guard
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) led all players with 27 points and was eight-for-nine from the free-throw line. She also posted a team-best five assists and added five rebounds. In her first career start, sophomore forward
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp./Central Valley) tallied 17 points on seven-of-12 from the floor and also collected a team-high 14 rebounds (seven defensive) to register her second career double-double. Senior
Paige Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) finished with 11 points in the victory.
The game started with Cal U jumping out to a 10-7 lead after the opening four minutes before Notre Dame scored the next four points to take an 11-10 lead. The two teams exchanged jumpers until the end of the first quarter with the Vulcans leading 18-16, including six points from Barrett. The Falcons opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run, including seven points from reigning Mountain East Conference (MEC) Player of the Year senior Martha Nagbe, to take a 27-20 lead. Cal U countered with an 11-4 run to tie the score at 31-31 before Lauren Langenderfer made a last-second three-pointer to give Notre Dame a 34-31 lead at halftime.
The Vulcans started the second half on a 16-7 run over the first six minutes of the third quarter to take a 47-41 lead. Cal U continued to control the third quarter and finished the third quarter by scoring nine points to take a 56-48 lead. The Falcons closed the gap to 58-56 after an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter before the Vulcans responded and started to pull away after making three field goals in just over a minute. The Vulcans ended the game with an 8-1 run, including six points from Glenn.
Cal U finished the game shooting 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the field, while Notre Dame shot at a 46.2 clip (
24-of-52). The Vulcans held a 39-32 advantage in rebounds and forced 20 turnovers that led to 18 points.
Nagbe posted 26 points to lead Notre Dame, while Langenderfer tallied a team-high eight rebounds.Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 15, against host and preseason MEC favorite West Liberty at 2 p.m.
