Mar 3, 2016 4 min read

CALIFORNIA – It didn’t take long for Seairra Barrett to learn what the California University women’s basketball team considers the foundation for its success.

Barrett, a sophomore forward for the Vulcans, heard about it the first time she stepped onto the campus during a recruiting trip two years ago and the message came directly from head coach Jess Strom.

“The first time I walked into Coach Jess’ office, the first thing she told me was, ‘I look for players who like to play defense,'” Barrett recalled.

That news kicked Barrett’s worrying mind into overdrive. Though having off-the-charts athletic ability, Barrett had never played the kind of in-your-face, man-to-man defense that has become Cal’s trademark. Barrett, however, has proven to be a quick learner and Thursday was named the PSAC West Division Defensive Player of the Year.

Barrett was one of three award winners from California. Junior point guard Miki Glenn, the PSAC’s leading scorer, was named the West Division Player of the Year. Strom, who guided Cal to the West championship, was voted the division’s Coach of the Year.

When Strom told her team after practice that Barrett won the top defender award, the native of Center Township in Beaver County reacted in stunned disbelief.

“Honestly, I’ve just been trying to do my job. I didn’t know I was leaving a lasting impact on our opponents,” Barrett said.

The defensive development of young players such as Barrett is a big reason California will take a 22-5 record and 11-game winning streak into the PSAC tournament semifinals Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against Shippensburg (21-6) at Hamer Hall. Indiana (20-7) plays West Chester (21-6) in the other semifinal at 1 p.m.

Barrett is fourth in the PSAC in rebounding (10.1 per game) and 10th in steals (1.9). What can’t be measured in numbers is how many missed shots, altered shots, hurried passes and aborted drives to the basket Barrett has caused with her unrelenting defense.

“She can guard anybody, from (positions) 1 through 5,” Strom said.

“She’s great at trapping and rebounding. She’s an intimidating factor on defense. She can guard anything defensively.”

That wasn’t the case when Barrett arrived at Cal. She was a product of zone defenses that are popular in high school girls basketball. She relied simply on pure athleticism when playing defense.

“In high school, a lot of teams play a 2-3 zone and girls aren’t taught man-to-man, positioning and helping,” Strom said. “So it was a bit of culture shock for Seairra when she got here. She had to learn our style of defense, but you could see she had the ability.”

There was an adjustment period for Barrett, a Central Valley product. As a freshman, Barrett’s role was that of the first post player off the bench for the Vulcans’ NCAA Division II national championship team. She played in all 36 games, averaging 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds.

“Last year, she played such a different role,” Strom said. “She was an athlete who got rebounds. This year, she’s one of our go-to players. She’s improved her post moves and ball-handling, and her confidence has improved significantly. All of that is part of maturing as a player.”

Simply put, Barrett has developed into a force. She has 13 double-doubles (points and rebounds) and her defensive play in the Vulcans’ 75-67 win over Edinboro in the PSAC tournament quarterfinals Tuesday helped hold the Fighting Scots to only 10 points in the pivotal fourth quarter. Barrett held Edinboro’s Aignee’ Freeland, a West Division first team selection and the Fighting Scots’ leading scorer, without a basket over the final 14 minutes.

That Barrett is playing at Cal is a testament to Strom’s flexibility in recruiting. Barrett received offers from Division I schools to play volleyball, but Strom was the only Division II basketball coach who said she could also play two sports – after her freshman year.

“I think they just wanted me to get my feet wet before I jumped into playing two sports,” said Barrett, who also is doubling up in the classroom with a major in accounting and a minor in Spanish.

Strom said the basketball-volleyball combination has not been a problem.

“I knew it was really important to her to play volleyball,” Strom said. “She loves volleyball and the seasons overlap only a couple of weeks.”

Barrett was named to the West Division second team. … Glenn leads the PSAC in scoring (18.9), steals (3.4) and minutes (39.4) per game. She shoots 90 percent from the free-throw line. … Shippensburg junior forward Morgan Griffith was named the East Division Player of the Year. She ranks third in the conference in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (11.4).