CALIFORNIA (March 16) – The top-seeded Vulcans captured the Atlantic Regional Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in school history on Monday night with a 72-69 overtime victory against third-seeded Bloomsburg at Hamer Hall.

With the win, the No. 14 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 29-4 overall and will face No. 18 Nova Southeastern (Fla.) in the Elite Eight on March 24 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Meanwhile, No. 15 Bloomsburg closes the year with a 26-5 overall record.

Sophomore guard Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and seven-of-seven from the charity stripe. She also totaled six rebounds and four assists while playing all 45 minutes on Monday. Glenn was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament after averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists over the last three games.

Seniors Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) and Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) finished with 20 and 17 points, respectively, in the victory. Fratz tied a season high by making five-of-nine attempts from beyond the arc and collected three rebounds and two assists while playing the last 11 minutes with four fouls. Kukolj shot 7-of-17 from the floor in the victory and tied for the team lead with six rebounds (five offensive).

The Huskies scored the opening two baskets of overtime to take a 67-63 lead with 2:24 left to play before the Vulcans posted their initial points of overtime when Kukolj made a jumper at the 2:05-mark. Following a missed shot by Bloomsburg, Cal U reclaimed the lead at 68-67 on its next possession when Fratz made a three-pointer with 1:40 remaining. The Huskies answered with a basket before Kukolj scored on a second-chance lay-up with just under one minute left in overtime. Bloomsburg then committed a turnover before Glenn scored on a layup to stretch the lead to 72-69 with 14.3 seconds remaining. Cal U managed to deflect a pass on an inbound attempt with 8.2 seconds left before the Huskies missed a potential game-tying shot with four seconds remaining.

Midway through the first half, Bloomsburg mounted a 13-2 run to take the largest lead of the game at 20-9 with 8:56 left before the break. The Vulcans managed to make just 1-of-10 attempts from the floor during the nearly eight-minute run by Huskies. Cal U then scored nine-unanswered points twice during an 18-4 rally, including all nine first-half points by Glenn, to take a 27-24 lead at the 2:36-mark on a pair of free-throws by Fratz. The Huskies scored the final three points of the first half, as the teams went into the break tied at 27-27.

The Vulcans scored 10-straight points early in the second half to take a 40-33 lead after a three-pointer by Fratz with 14:30 remaining. Bloomsburg then countered with a 10-2 run to reclaim the lead at 43-42 with 11:06 left to play. Following a free-throw by the Vulcans, the Huskies built their lead to 53-47 at the 6:26-mark after mounting a 10-4 run. Cal U answered with an 11-4 rally over two-plus minutes to take a 58-57 lead on a trey by Fratz with 4:14 remaining. With the score tied in the final minute, Glenn gave the Vulcans a 63-61 lead on a layup with 48.1 seconds left in regulation. Bloomsburg countered with a game-tying basket on the ensuing possession with 35.7 seconds remaining before blocking a potential, go-ahead jumper by Glenn with 10.0 seconds left. Neither team was then able to put up a shot in the final seconds of regulation.

Bloomsburg senior Marla Simmons scored a team-high 19 points after shooting 6-of-15 from the floor, including three-of-seven from beyond the arc. Fellow senior Jocelyn Ford added 18 points, nine rebounds (four offensive) and five assists in the loss, while junior Erica Maciejewski finished with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the floor and converted 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Huskies shot at a 43.6 clip (24-of-55) from the field and 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the charity stripe. Bloomsburg held a 41-38 rebounding advantage, while Cal U scored 23 points after forcing 21 turnovers in the victory.

The Vulcans will face Nova Southeastern in the Elite Eight on March 24 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Sharks captured the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Tournament Championship on March 8 and earned the South Region title on Monday with a 67-62 victory over top-seeded Union (Tenn.).

Notes:
Cal U improves to 5-2 all-time in regional championship games, including a 3-0 mark at Hamer Hall … The Vulcans are one of three No. 1 seeds to advance to the 2015 Elite Eight … Cal U earned both the PSAC and NCAA regional titles in the same season for the third time in school history (2003, 2004) … The Vulcans improve to 6-1 this season against nationally-ranked opponents … Cal U holds a 2-1 mark this year in overtime games … The Vulcans and Huskies combined for 13 lead changes, including a combined 12 in the second half and overtime, and 10 tied scores