Mar 12, 2016 3 min read

RICHMOND, Va. – There will be a new national champion in NCAA Division II women’s basketball this season.

West Liberty assured as much Saturday evening with 68-62 victory over defending national champion California in the Atlantic Region semifinals at Barco-Stephens Hall on the campus of Virginia Union.

The Hilltoppers’ Kierra Simpson scored a game-high 22 points, including two clutch free throws with 12 seconds remaining, as West Liberty (29-4) advanced to the regional final Monday against either CIAA champion Virginia Union or Mountain East champion Wheeling Jesuit.

The loss snapped California’s 14-game winning streak. The Vulcans, who had only one returning starter from their national championship team, finish the season with a 25-6 record. Cal also had its seven-game winning streak in the national tournament end.

“Obviously, when you win a national championship, everybody is asking, ‘Are you going to repeat?’ while not understanding how tough it is to do it one time,” Cal head coach Jess Strom said. “We had a lot of kids play this year who didn’t get off the bench last year. Miki Glenn was our only returning starter. … I think we surpassed our expectations.”

It was West Liberty’s second win of the season over California. The Hilltoppers beat the Vulcans handily in a mid-November game played in West Virginia.

“West Liberty is a great team,” Strom said. “We played them in our second game of the season and lost by 23 points, so we played them much better this time.”

West Liberty led 33-31 at halftime, then took command in the pivotal third quarter when it outscored Cal 21-13. The Hilltoppers made five of their first six shots in the second half to stretch their lead to double digits. Cal, meanwhile, made only three of its first 10 shots in the third quarter.

The Hilltoppers led 54-44 after three quarters before Cal began to chip away at its deficit. The Vulcans scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, including four by Seairra Barrett, to close to within 54-50. A basket by Shatara Parsons, who scored 16 points, pulled Cal to within 56-54 with more than six minutes remaining.

“A loss to end your season always hurts,” Strom said, “but I think we showed a lot of character after being down 10 going to the fourth quarter to scratch and claw back into the game.”

West Liberty, which was eliminated by Cal in the regional semifinals last year, never did relinquish the lead, though a basket by Glenn with 1:18 pulled Cal to within 63-62.

Liz Flowers, who scored 37 points in West Liberty’s first-round win Friday over Shaw, made a driving layup to give the Hilltoppers a three-point lead with 48 seconds remaining. A Cal turnover set up Simpson’s two free throws that pushed West Liberty’s lead to two possessions. Cal then missed a three-pointer and West Liberty point guard Kailee Howe, who had 15 points and seven assists, made a free throw to close the scoring.

Glenn and Precious Martin each scored 18 points to pace Cal, which was held without a three-point basket (0-for-6). Barrett had a team-high 12 rebounds.

Flowers scored 18 points on 8-for-25 shooting. Simpson, who holds the NCAA record for rebounds in an NCAA tournament game with 29, led the Hilltoppers on the boards with 14 rebounds.

“We lose only one senior (Paige Wright) and have three injured players who will be coming back,” Strom pointed out, “so I think the future is bright. To look at our roster and see we lost 40 points per game off last year’s team, and to get this far, that’s pretty impressive.”