California works overtime to reach Elite 8
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter CalU's Kaitlynn Fratz hugs Shatara Parsons after beating Bloomsburg 72-69 in the NCAA Division II tournament. California will advance to the Elite 8 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's Miki Glenn runs to her team celebrating as Bloomburg leaves the court after CalU won 72-69 in overtime.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter The CalU Ladies' team celebrates as their name is announced as the winner of the game against Bloomsburg after a 72-69 win on Monday, March 16.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's volunteer coaching assistant Kelly Sabo hugs Miki Glenn after the team defeated Bloomsburg on Monday night.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter CalU's Kaitlynn Fratz gets past Bloomsburg's Taylor Maldonado for a shot during the second half of the game on Monday.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's CeCe Dixon shoots a layup during the first half of the game against Bloomsburg.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's Miki Glenn holds up a piece of the net after beating Bloomsburg during the game on Monday night and claiming the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional title.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's Miki Glenn gets two points for her team during the second half of the game against Bloomsburg.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter California's ladies basketball team celebrates after winning the Atlantic Regional NCAA Division II title on Monday, March 16.
CALIFORNIA – Kaitlyn Fratz thought she fouled out of the game with more than two minutes left in regulation. Irina Kukolj was determined not to let the “longest game” of her career be her last. And everybody in humid Hamer Hall Monday night knew what Miki Glenn was going to do on California University’s final offensive possession.
Fratz, however, got a “lucky” break, Kukolj remained relentless on the boards and Glenn continued to do what she does best.
Fratz, Kukolj and Glenn made the key plays in overtime as California outlasted Bloomsburg 72-69 to win the NCAA Division II women’s basketball Atlantic Regional. The victory advances the Vulcans (29-4) to the Elite Eight March 24-27 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
It will be Cal’s fifth appearance in the Elite Eight and first since 2009. In the quarterfinals, the Vulcans will play Nova Southeastern, which defeated Union (Tenn.), 67-62, in the South Region final.
To get there, Cal had to overcome a double-digit deficit in the first half and watch as a potential game-tying three-pointer by Bloomsburg’s Marla Simmons bounced off the rim just before the final buzzer of overtime.
“We are just very, very excited,” Cal coach Jess Strom said. “I am so proud of these kids. I don’t know how we pulled that one out. They just fight, fight and fight.”
This one was a struggle all the way for Cal. The Vulcans shot only 37 percent, fell behind 20-9 and trailed 67-63 with only 2:24 left in overtime.
That’s when Fratz, Kukolj and Glenn salvaged Cal’s season.
Kukolj, a senior forward who scored 17 points, was trapped in the lane when she flung a one-handed shot in the direction of the basket and somehow it went in for Cal’s first points of overtime. After a Bloomsburg miss, Fratz, who scored 20 points despite sitting out almost five minutes with foul trouble, sank a three-pointer from the right wing to give Cal the lead, 68-67.
Fratz thought she had fouled out of the game with 2:16 left in regulation after hacking Bloomsburg’s Adreana Sadowski on a shot under the Huskies’ basket.
“I fouled her,” Fratz admitted.
Fratz put her hands on her head and walked slowly to midcourt while looking at the Hamer Hall rafters in disbelief. Even Strom thought Fratz was called for a fifth foul and sent Seairra Barrett to the scorer’s table as a replacement for the senior guard.
“My teammates told me they’d pick me up,” Fratz recalled. “They said ‘We’ve got you covered.’ It just so happened that it was my lucky call.”
The call, much to everybody’s surprise, was a foul not on Fratz, but on Glenn. Fratz continued to play and made her fifth three-pointer of the game during overtime.
Simmons, the PSAC East Division Player of the Year, drove for a basket and gave Bloomsburg (26-5) its final lead at 69-68 with 1:24 left. Cal then went back inside to Kukolj, who missed a shot from point-blank range but grabbed the rebound and put the ball back up and in to give the Vulcans the lead for good.
Bloomsburg then committed one of its 21 turnovers, giving Cal the ball with the lead and less than one minute to play.
“They took 67 shots and we attempted 55. And 21 turnovers is very uncharacteristic for us,” Bloomsburg coach Bill Cleary said.
Cal, which scored 23 points off Bloomsburg turnovers, didn’t call a timeout to set up a final play.
“I called a couple of timeouts and they didn’t run what I drew up anyway,” Strom said. “Sometimes we play better when we just let ’em play.”
The timeout wasn’t necessary. Everybody knew Cal would get the ball to Glenn, who would drive left and down the lane.
“We wanted to keep her to the right because she has a deadly crossover from right to left,” Cleary said. “She did that time and again. That’s going to keep me up at night for a long time.”
Glenn, the Vulcans’ point guard, drove left and put up a scoop shot that banked in, giving Cal a 72-69 lead with 14 seconds left. Glenn scored a game-high 23 points and was named the MVP of the eight-team regional.
Bloomsburg had a good chance to force a second overtime. Simmons had an open look at the top of the key but the ball caught rim and Glenn rebounded as time expired.
Simmons led Bloomsburg with 19 points and Jocelyn Ford had 18.
“I felt confident we weren’t going to lose this game,” Kukolj said.