CALIFORNIA (Jan. 23) – Junior guard
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) scored a career-high 36 points on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans claimed a 76-74 win over Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 12-5 this season behind a 7-1 mark at home. The Vulcans also now hold a 10-4 mark in the league standings at the midway point of divisional play. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 9-11 overall and 7-7 in conference action.
Glenn finished with 36 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor and 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. She also added five rebounds, two assists and six steals while playing all 40 minutes on Saturday. Glenn scored 21 points in the first half against the Lakers after shooting seven-of-nine from the field and seven-of-seven from the charity stripe.
Sophomore
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including the game-winning score in the closing seconds, and registered eight rebounds and two steals. Senior
Paige Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) finished with eight points – all in the first quarter – behind a pair of three-pointers in the victory. Sophomore
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) tied for the team lead with eight rebounds and record a pair of blocks, including the game-sealing block on the final possession for the Lakers.
The Vulcans opened the game on a 9-4 run with all nine points scored by Glenn and Wright. Mercyhurst then countered with nine-unanswered points to take a 13-9 lead with 4:26 left in the first quarter. Cal U snapped a three-plus minute scoreless drought with a 9-0 rally to reclaim the lead at 18-13 on a layup by Barrett at the 1:57-mark. The Lakers then tied the score at 18-18 before Glenn made a jumper with six seconds remaining in the quarter, 20-18.
Cal U mounted a 9-2 run over nearly three minutes early in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 29-22 with 7:00 left before halftime. The Lakers worked the deficit down 33-31 at the 3:05-mark before the Vulcans countered with six-straight points to take a 39-31 lead on a layup by Barrett with 1:39 remaining before the break. Mercyhurst later made a basket at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 41-38 at halftime.
The Lakers scored the opening two baskets of the third quarter before the Vulcans countered with seven-straight points to take a 48-43 lead on a pair of free-throws by Glenn at the 5:56-mark. Cal U stretched the lead to 52-44 before Mercyhurst answered with a 13-5 run over four-plus minutes to tie the game at 57-57 with eight seconds left in the quarter. Glenn made a pair of last-second free-throws to give the Vulcans a 59-57 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Mercyhurst registered a 13-4 run over four-plus minutes in the fourth quarter to take a 70-67 lead with 3:52 left in the game. The Vulcans tied the game on a three-pointer by redshirt freshman
Morgan Jennings (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) at the 3:29-mark before Glenn scored on a layup to give Cal U a 72-70 lead with 2:55 remaining. The Lakers again tied the game on a layup before the Vulcan took a 74-72 lead on a pair of free-throws by Glenn with 2:13 left to play. Both teams were held scoreless until Mercyhurst tied the game at 74-74 on a jumper with 31 seconds remaining. Barrett then scored the go-ahead basket for the Vulcans with five seconds left before Parsons sealed the victory with a block on the final shot attempt by the Lakers.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (29-of-58) from the floor and converted 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Lakers finished at 51.8 clip (29-of-56) from the field and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the charity stripe. Cal U held a slight 30-28 rebounding advantage and scored 26 points off turnovers in the win.
Junior Angela Heintz scored 25 points for the Lakers on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor, including three-of-five from beyond the arc. Fellow juniors Natalie Piaggesi and Alex Artise finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 27, when it hosts IUP in a 'Red Out' at the Convocation Center with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN3.
