ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 20) – Behind a dominating fourth quarter in which it allowed only five points, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team claimed a 65-51 victory at Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play to clinch at least a share of the divisional title.

With the win, the Vulcans improve to 20-5 overall and extend their win streak to nine games. Cal U also now holds a 1.0-game lead in the PSAC West standings with a 17-4 mark in league action and have secured a first-round bye in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst drops to 13-14 this season and 11-10 in conference play.

Junior guard Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) led the team with 19 points after shooting 8-of-14 from the field. She also tallied five rebounds, four assists and five steals while playing all 40 minutes on Saturday. Glenn is averaging 18.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 4.7 steals during the team's nine-game winning streak.

Sophomore Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while junior Precious Martin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) finished with 11 points, eight rebounds (five offensive) and two steals. Senior Paige Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) added 10 points in the victory and sophomore Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) registered nine points, nine rebounds (four offensive) and three steals.

The teams each scored only one basket in the opening two minutes of the game before Cal U scored nine-straight points to take an 11-2 lead on a layup by Barrett with 6:01 left in the first quarter. The Lakers answered with six-straight points to trim the deficit to 11-8 with 1:50 remaining in the quarter. The Vulcans snapped a nearly 4:30 scoreless drought with a jumper by redshirt freshman Morgan Jennings (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) at the 1:33-mark before taking a 15-10 lead at the end of the quarter.

Cal U stretched the lead to 20-11 with two baskets early in the second quarter before scoring its last basket of the first half at the 6:50-mark. The Lakers closed the second quarter on an 11-0 run over the final five-plus minutes to take a 26-22 lead at halftime. During the run, Mercyhurst shot five-of-seven from the floor and Cal U missed all six of its shot attempts and committed three turnovers.

The Lakers scored the opening four points of the third quarter before the Vulcans recorded their first points in a span of nearly nine minutes on a jumper by Glenn with 8:31 left in the quarter. The basket by Glenn started a 10-4 run that cut the deficit to 34-32 at the 5:00-mark in the third quarter. Cal U later tied the scored on a layup by Glenn with 4:01 left before the teams traded points for the remainder of the quarter with Mercyhurst holding a 46-42 lead.

The teams traded points for the opening two-plus minutes of the fourth quarter before Cal U scored eight-unanswered points to take a 52-48 lead on a layup with 5:42 remaining – its first lead since 3:49 left in the first half. Following a pair of free-throws by the Lakers, the Vulcans seized control of the game with a 13-1 run over the final 3:33 of the game to earn the victory.

Cal U made 60 percent from the floor in the second half to finish the game with a .491 field-goal percentage (28-of-57). Meanwhile, Mercyhurst shot at a 44.4 clip (20-of-45) from the floor and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the free-throw line. The Lakers finished with a 30-29 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 23 points off turnovers.

Junior Natalie Piaggessi led Mercyhurst with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and three blocks while playing all 40 minutes. Classmate Angela Heintz finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in the loss.

The Vulcans close out the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 24, when they host Edinboro on Senior Day at 5:30 p.m.