Feb 24, 2016 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – The too young and too inexperienced women’s basketball team at California University has grown up so fast that it accomplished something that hasn’t been done around here in seven years.

Junior point guard Miki Glenn, the only returning starter from last year’s NCAA Division II national championship team, scored 19 points, had seven assists and six steals Wednesday night to lead California to an 83-52 victory over Edinboro at the Convocation Center.

The win clinched the PSAC West Division title for Cal (18-4, 21-5) and gives the Vulcans home-court advantage throughout the upcoming PSAC tournament. Even with all the postseason success Cal has had in recent years, it’s the first West Division championship since the 2008-09 season.

That’s quite an accomplishment for a team that lost Lana Doran and Brittany Nelson, a starter and reserve last season, to knee injuries in the preseason and had CeCe Dixon quit basketball during the season. Injuries also depleted the Vulcans’ depth as only eight players were in uniform against Edinboro.

“The kids on this team have stepped up in so many ways,” Cal coach Jess Strom said. “We keep losing players but I’m proud of the way everybody has filled their roles. The early part of the season was rocky, but to win the West with only one starter back, I can’t complain.”

It turned out that Cal didn’t even need to beat Edinboro to clinch the West. Seton Hill upset second-place IUP, 68-54, which allowed Cal to win the title with a two-game advantage.

Cal has a first-round bye in the conference tournament and will host either Edinboro or Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals Tuesday (7 p.m.). Strom said there is a chance that game will be played at Hamer Hall instead of the Convocation Center.

The Vulcans will take a 10-game winning streak into the postseason. The last team to beat Cal was Edinboro, 73-54, last month. This time, Cal never let the Fighting Scots (14-8, 19-9) think upset. Glenn scored 14 first-half points as Cal led 23-11 after one quarter and 38-25 at halftime. The Vulcans then opened the second half with a decisive 10-2 run.

The Vulcans forced 25 Edinboro turnovers and held the Fighting Scots to 0-for-9 shooting from three-point range.

“This has been a special season,” Glenn said. “We lost a lot of players but we took care of business when we needed to.”

Seairra Barrett had her 13th double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and collecting 12 rebounds. Shatara Parsons scored 17 points to give Cal three starters in double figures.

“Defense is the key for us. We’ve been holding teams to 50 and 60 points, so we’re getting it defensively. Defense is our best offense. The last 10 games, we’ve been clicking.”

Aignee’ Freeland, a 6-3 center, led Edinboro with 25 points.