Only team to beat Cal women in regular season has early exit
CALIFORNIA – The only team to defeat California during the regular season couldn’t make it out of the first round of the NCAA Division II Women’s East Regional on Friday night. Pitt-Johnstown, an upset winner over the nation’s second-ranked team on Jan. 22, was beaten by the regional’s second seed, Glenville State, 70-56, Friday.
Glenville State led 41-33 at halftime and finished with four players in double figures, led by Tracy Wyatt with 18 points and Carrie Triplett with 17.
Pitt-Johnstown was led by Crystal Barr with 21 points, Helen Young with 15 and Jamie Cicuto with 10. Pitt-Johnstown finished its season with a 21-7 record.
In two other first-round games Friday, third-seeded Longwood defeated No. 6 West Liberty State, 77-63; and No. 5 West Chester beat No. 4 Pfeiffer, 76-73.
Longwood, the nation’s 22nd-ranked team, was led by 6-foot forward Marita Meldere. The sophomore led all players with 28 points and 24 rebounds. Monica Mason came off the bench to score 14 points for Longwood and Angel Johnson added 12.
West Liberty State, which finished its season 24-8, was led by Ashlea Bland with 24 points and Kelly West with 11.
The tightest game on Friday’s card wasn’t decided until Pfeiffer’s Bertshalyn Bailey missed a shot at the buzzer in front of a sparse crowd at California’s gym.
West Chester appeared as if it would coast to an easy win, but its 72-64 lead nearly dissipated due to the hot hand of Pfeiffer’s Amanda Joplin. The senior center scored six consecutive points to cut West Chester’s lead to 72-70 with 3:27 left. Joplin had a chance to tie the game a minute later but turned the ball over while driving for a lay-up. West Chester’s Amy Buda turned the steal into a four-point lead for West Chester with 2:10 left.
Pfeiffer guard Shannon Reid cut the deficit to 74-73 with a long 3-point shot with 38.8 seconds left, but Kiesha Mack of West Chester made two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining.
Pfeiffer had two chances to tie the game, but Reid missed a wild 3-point shot and Bailey, who corralled the rebound, missed another 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Mack led West Chester with 20 points while teammate Kiera Manlove added 16.
Pfeiffer, which finished its season 24-5, was led by Joplin with 28, Reid with 21 and Josephine Bain with 10. The three players combined to score 81 percent of Pfeiffer’s points.