CALIFORNIA (March 14) – Sophomore Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) and senior Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) combined for 32 points in leading the No. 14 and top-seeded Vulcans to a 69-64 victory over fifth-seeded West Liberty in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday evening at Hamer Hall.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 28-4 overall and advances to the championship game of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament against third-seeded Bloomsburg. Meanwhile, West Liberty ends the year with a 24-9 mark.

Glenn scored 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting and made a perfect eight-of-eight from the free-throw line. She also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fratz totaled 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting and recorded four steals, one assist and one offensive rebound. Senior Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) added 12 points and six rebounds, while classmate Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds (three offensive).

West Liberty took an early 7-2 lead at the 16:35-mark on a layup by senior Hillary Southworth. Cal U responded with a 12-2 run to take a 14-9 lead with 12:56 to play after a pair of free-throws from freshman forward Seairra Barrett (Center, Twp., Pa./Central Valley). The Vulcan defense forced four Lady Hilltopper turnovers and five different Cal U players scored during the run. The Vulcans pushed the lead to 28-21 at the 3:14-mark on a layup by junior Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, England/Barking Abbey) before taking a 30-23 halftime lead.

In the second half, Southworth pulled West Liberty to within s34-28 after a pair of free-throws with 17:09 to play. A steal by Glenn led to a layup that pushed the Vulcan lead to 43-34 with 13:49 remaining. A jumper by junior Kailee Howe followed by her traditional three-point play whittled the Cal U lead to just 47-44 at the 11:46-mark and capped a 10-4 run by West Liberty. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes until a layup from senior Jenn Mohney pulled the Lady Hilltoppers to within 53-51 at the 7:41-mark. A three-pointer by sophomore CeCe Dixon (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) capped a 10-5 run that extended the Vulcan lead to 63-54 with just under three minutes to play. The Vulcans later made six-of-eight from the charity stripe to seal the win.

Cal U finished the game shooting 36.4 percent (24-of-56) from the field while connecting at a 90.0 clip (18-of-20) from the foul line. West Liberty shot 45.6 percent from the floor (26-of-57) after making 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half. The Vulcans out-rebounded the Lady Hilltoppers by a 40-35 margin behind 14 offensive rebounds and Cal U scored 20 points off turnovers.

Howe scored a game-high 27 points after making 12-of-28 attempts from the floor. Southworth added 17 points and five rebounds, while junior Kierra Simpson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Vulcans continue play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 16, when they host Bloomsburg in the Atlantic Region Championship at 7 p.m.

Notes:
Cal U advanced to the Atlantic Regional Championship for the second time in three years … Head coach Jess Strom improves to 4-1 in the NCAA Tournament