California women win, headed to Elite Eight
CALIFORNIA – A year’s worth of frustration – not to mention more than a few gallons of sweat spent getting back to this game – poured all over the floor at Hamer Hall on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania Monday night. The Lady Vulcans avenged a loss at Glenville State in last season’s East Regional title game by beating the Pioneers, 76-67, before 1,750 fans in this season’s East Regional title game.
With the win, California (32-1) also set a school record for most wins in a season. And the Lady Vulcans earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, beginning with a 1 p.m. tip-off against North Florida on Wdnesday, March 26, at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Mo. North Florida advanced by upsetting Shaw, 71-58 in the South Atlantic regional at Shaw.
California is ranked No. 2 nationally and hopes for a shot at top-ranked and unbeaten Seattle Pacific. That match-up would come in the NCAA Division II National Championship game, which will be televised live by ESPN2 on Saturday, March 29.
But first things first and on this night, the Vulcans knew they had to play their game if they were to avenge last year’s heartbreaking loss to the Pioneers.
“Last year, they laughed in our faces,” said Cal sophomore guard Sara McKinney, who made the All-Tournament team after scoring 15 points and pulling seven rebounds. “That’s what makes this one feel so good. I decided that I’d do anything to get us past this game.”
Of course, it took more than one player for California to advance. Tournament MVP Becky Siembak, a junior, led Cal with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Sameera Philyaw added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“It takes all 13 of our players to make us as good as we are,” coach Darcie Vincent said. Speaking of Philyaw, who did all of her damage off the bench, Vincent added, “It was her time and place.”
Philyaw took a lot of playing time away from 6-9 senior Suzie Gyarfas, but “It wasn’t what Suzie wasn’t doing as much as it was what this one (Philyaw) was doing,” according to Vincent.
What Philyaw did, especially in the first half, was establish California’s rebounding superiority. The Lady Vulcans owned the boards, both offensively (19-4) and defensively (26-18) and it was Philyaw setting the tone. She had four offensive rebounds and 10 points, the former leading directly to the latter, by halftime.
“We knew we could get defensive rebounds,” Philyaw said. “But I took this as a challenge. The last coupel of games, I wasn’t playing very well. I was pretty pumped up for this game and I knew they wouldn’t be able to keep up with my speed. I just took advantage of it.”
Still, the Lady Vulcans trailed, 34-33, at the half. But Cal opened the second half with a 12-5 run to take a 7-point lead, 46-39, with 13:39 remaining.
“They did that mostly with defense,” Glenville coach Steve Harold said. “And we turned the ball over – uncharastically – a few times.”
But Harold knew why his team lost the game. It had nothing to do with the Hamer Hall crowd and it had very little to do with Cal’s modest run at the start of the second half.
“We got doubled up on rebounds (45-22),” he said. “You won’t beat anybody getting doubled up on rebounds.”
Yet, Glenville kept chipping away at Cal’s lead, which swelled as high as 12 (62-50) on McKinney’s three-point play with 6:07 remaining.
“We got it down to four (on Tracy Wyatt’s lay-up at 2:47), but we missed a couple of key shots at that point,” Harold said, referring a couple of missed layups in the waning moments. “There are games when they’re not going to drop, but you can’t fault our kids. A shot here and a shot there, if they go, we might still be playing.”
Instead, the Lady Pioneers were forced to foul California and, even though the Lady Vulcans managed to make only 18 of 32 free throws for the game, they made enough down the stretch to win the game.
Carrie Triplett paced Glenville State with 22 points and, along with Wyatt, make the All-Tournament team.
For Vincent, the win represents another step in her program’s development at California. She came here three seasons ago from Slippery Rock and has gone 76-17 with the Lady Vulcans. She made it to the Elite Eight in her last season at Slippery Rock, so she wanted this one for her players.
“I’m pleased as a plum for them,” Vincent said. “I just wanted them to experience what I got to experience four years ago.”
Now that the Lady Vulcans will get that experience, they plan on aiming higher.
“We don’t say like the Road to Missouri, we want to be on ESPN2,” Vincent said. “Nothing against CUTV, but we want all 50 states.”
A win over North Florida would put California in the Final Four, with the semifinals set for Thursday, March 27.