CALIFORNIA (March 10) – Three different players recorded a double-double on Friday evening, as the No. 7 and top-seeded Vulcans earned an 88-86 victory over eighth-seeded Glenville State at Hamer Hall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 29-3 this season and advance to face fifth-seeded Mercyhurst in the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, March 11. Meanwhile, the Pioneers end the season with a 24-6 overall record.

Junior Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led all players with 29 points and matched her career high of 18 rebounds (five offensive), marking her fourth double-double of the season. She shot 11-of-21 from the floor and went 7-of-10 from the free-throw line on Friday. Barrett has now posted three-straight 20-point games and is averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game this season.

Classmate Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and collected 14 rebounds (eight offensive) against Glenville State. Sophomore Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) posted 12 points and set a career high with 11 assists, while also tallying five rebounds and two steals while playing all 40 minutes.

Freshman Bailey Cooper (Donora, Pa./Ringgold), who was making her first appearance since Dec. 3, finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes off the bench. Senior Precious Martin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) added 10 points and three rebounds before fouling out in just 17 minutes.

The Vulcans and Pioneers were tied at 17-17 after the first quarter, as the two teams committed a combined 22 turnovers. Glenville State, which ranks second in NCAA Division II in scoring offense, shot five-of-seven from beyond the arc in the opening quarter while Cal U benefited from 10 fouls against the Pioneers by going 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. In the second quarter, the game remained a single-possession contest until Glenville State mounted an 8-2 run to take a 35-31 lead with 1:17 left before halftime. The Vulcans responded with five-straight points before the Pioneers took a 37-36 lead at the break.

Cal U scored eight points in the opening two minutes of the third quarter to take a 44-37 lead on a layup by Barrett with 8:16 left. The Pioneers answered with a 10-2 run to reclaim the lead at 47-46 at the 4:54-mark before the Vulcans made three-straight shots to take a 52-47 lead on another basket by Barrett with 3:42 left in the third quarter. Glenville State cut the deficit to as few as 52-51 before Parsons eventually converted a three-point play in the final minute to give the Vulcans a 62-56 lead at the end of the quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, Sporio closed a run of nine-straight points with a three-point play to give Cal U a 77-67 lead with 5:43 left in the game. Cooper eventually stretched the lead to 15 points, 83-68, at the 3:52-mark before the Vulcans were held scoreless for two-plus minutes. Cooper stopped the drought with a layup to give Cal U an 85-74 lead with just over 90 seconds remaining before Glenville State worked the deficit down to 87-83 on a three-pointer with 10 seconds left. Barrett made one of two from the charity stripe with seven seconds remaining before the Pioneers made a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 49.3 percent (34-of-69) from the floor while attempt just one three-pointer. In comparison, the Pioneers made 41.1 percent (30-of-73) from the field and went 12-of-31 (38.7 percent) from long range. The teams combined for 56 free-throw attempts after committing over 50 fouls. Cal U held a slim 47-45 rebounding advantage and scored 62 points from inside the paint.

Glenville State junior Kristin Desrocher led the team with 25 points off the bench after going 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Mountain East Conference (MEC) Player of the Year Paris McLeod finished with 13 points, three rebounds and four assists while committing nine turnovers in only 19 minutes.

The Vulcans will face Mercyhurst in the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. The teams split the regular-season series this year with the home team winning each time.