BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (March 8) – The Vulcans captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship with an 86-70 victory against West Chester in the finals of the league tournament on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 26-4 overall and earned the league's automatic qualifier for the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Vulcans captured their fifth league championship, and first since 2006, while making its first appearance in the PSAC Championship since 2011. Cal U will learn its seed later tonight when the NCAA releases the field for the NCAA Tournament via a webstream at 10 p.m. EST.

Sophomore guard Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) scored a career-high 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting and made 16-of-17 attempts (both career highs) from the free-throw line. She also totaled four rebounds, three assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Glenn was named the PSAC Championships MVP after averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the last two games.

Senior Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the victory, while classmate Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) posted 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, Englando/Barking Abbey) added eight points and three rebounds while battling foul trouble on Sunday.

The Golden Rams jumped out to a 6-0 lead, as the Vulcans were held scoreless until a basket by senior Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) at the 16:39-mark. On the ensuing possession, West Chester was unable to complete a traditional three-point play before Cal U scored five-straight points to cut the deficit to 8-7 after Glenn converted a three-point play with 15:07 left in the first half. The Golden Rams then mounted a 7-2 run to take a 15-9 lead with 10:42 remaining before halftime before the Vulcans cut the deficit to 15-13 after four free-throws by Glenn. Cal U later snapped a nearly-minute drought without a field goal when Fratz made a three-pointer to give the Vulcans their first lead of the game with 7:29 left before halftime. The Vulcans eventually scored 16-unasnwered points to take a 25-15 lead on a three-pointer by Glenn at the 4:37-mark. Cal U was plagued by foul trouble in the closing minutes of the first half, as West Chester cut the deficit to 34-27 at halftime.

The teams traded baskets in the opening two-plus minutes of the second half before West Chester mounted a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to 42-41 with 14:20 remaining. During the run, the Vulcans managed to make one-of-six from the floor and committed two turnovers. Both teams were held scoreless for the next 90-plus seconds before Glenn converted a three-point play at the 12:40-mark before the Golden Rams then cut the deficit to 45-44 with 11:54 left to play. Cal U then mounted a 12-6 run to stretch the lead to 57-50 following a three-pointer by Glenn with 9:11 remaining. The Golden Rams cut the deficit to 65-62 before the Vulcans sealed the victory with a 13-2 run to take a 78-64 lead on a layup by Fratz at the 1:07-mark. West Chester made just one-of-eight field-goals and committed a pair of turnovers during the rally. The Vulcans made all eight free-throws attempts in the final minute to maintain their double-digit lead.

Cal U finished the game shooting 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field and converted 94.3 percent (33-of-35) from the free-throw line. In comparison, West Chester shot at a 42.0 clip (29-of-69) from the floor and just 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the charity stripe. The Vulcans held a slim 42-41 rebounding advantage, while the Golden Rams scored 50 points from inside the paint. Cal U scored 20 second-chance points and forced 17 turnovers in the victory.

Junior guard Britany Sicinski scored a team-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting for the Golden Rams. Classmate Anna Kuntz finished with 17 points, while fellow junior Chikisha Steele-Hook collected a game-high 10 rebounds (four offensive).

Cal U has been featured in each of the NCAA Atlantic regional rankings this season, sitting fourth in each of the last two weeks. The Vulcans posted victories over three of the top-six teams in the latest regional rankings this week in the PSAC Tournament.

The NCAA Selection Show is tonight on NCAA.com at 10 p.m. EST.

Notes:
Head coach Jess Strom joins 2015 Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Darcie Vincent as the only head coaches in program history to win a league title … The Vulcans snapped a five-game losing streak in the PSAC Championship (2007-11) and now ranks second in conference history with five titles (Shippensburg, six) … Glenn finished two free-throws made shy of tying the single-game school record set by Pam Vilk in 1995  … Glenn and Fratz each posted a 30-point game this weekend after the Vulcans went more than four calendar years without a 30-point scorer (February 2011) … In addition to Cal U, Virginia State of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) earned the other automatic qualifier in the Atlantic Region