Mar 11, 2017 2 min read

CALIFORNIA – The injury-riddled California University women’s basketball team is one win away from the Elite Eight.

Seairra Barrett and Shatara Parsons combined for 41 points and led five California players in double figures Saturday night as the Vulcans defeated Mercyhurst 86-75 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional at Hamer Hall.

Top-seeded California (29-3) will play third-seeded and defending regional champion Virginia Union (25-4) in the final Monday (7 p.m.).

Virginia Union defeated Indiana 62-59 in the other semifinal.

The Cal-Virginia Union winner advances to the Elite Eight that will be played March 21-24 in Columbus, Ohio.

Barrett continued her strong postseason play by scoring a team-high 21 points. Parsons had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals.

Bailey Cooper, a freshman from Ringgold who played in only two regular-season games, came through in a big way for the Vulcans by coming off the bench to score 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting.

Abbey Sporio scored 13 points and had five steals, and Precious Martin rounded out Cal’s double-figure scorers with 11 points.

The Vulcans again played without injured starters Miki Glenn and Lana Doran and were without reserve forward Morgan Jennings.

Mercyhurst (24-8), which defeated California during the regular season in Erie, received 24 points from Angela Heintz and 21 from Natalie Piaggesi, but the Lakers couldn’t overcome 25 turnovers.

California led 42-30 at halftime after outscoring the Lakers 20-11 in the pivotal second quarter.