Cal knocked out of D-II tournament by IUP
RICHMOND, Va. – The sixth-seeded California University women’s basketball was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional by PSAC rival and hot-shooting Indiana, 90-65, Friday afternoon at Barco-Stevens Hall on the campus of Virginia Union.
California finishes the season with a 24-7 record. The Vulcans were making their 15th appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last 17 years. Meanwhile, 12th-ranked and third-seeded IUP improves to 27-3 and moves on to the regional semifinals tonight.
Cal senior Shatara Parsons scored a game-high 29 points, even after sitting out almost all of the second quarter with foul trouble. Parsons moved into ninth place on Cal’s the all-time scoring list with 1,501 points.
Sophomore D.J. Hahn was the only other Cal player to score in double figures as she finished with 13 points.
Cal shot only 38 percent from the field and made just two of 20 three-point attempts.
IUP shot a blistering 62 percent from the field and made seven three-pointers.
Megan Smith led the Crimson Hawks with 25 points, Carolyn Appleby had 16, Audrey Stapleton 12 and Brittany Robinson 10.
The Crimson Hawks led 19-15 after one quarter and increased the gap to 38-24 at halftime. IUP outscored Cal 17-14 in the third quarter.
It was the first time since 2007 that Cal was eliminated in the first round fo the NCAA tournament.