Best defense: Cal set to open NCAA play
Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter CalU's Precious Martin works her way around IUP's Kendall Hunter in the first half of Sunday's game.
Cal U.’s Precious Martin and Shatara Parsons embrace after winning the PSAC Championship Sunday.
The defense of its NCAA Division II national championship begins in earnest today in Richmond, Va., for the California University women’s basketball team.
The Vulcans (24-5), who have won 13 consecutive games, will play Chowan (20-8) in the first round of the Atlantic Regional. Tipoff is 2:30 p.m. California, the PSAC champion, is the No. 2 seed and Chowan is the No. 7 seed.
The NCAA announced Wednesday that the site of the regional was changed to the 2,500-seat Barco-Stevens Hall on the campus of host and top-seeded Virginia Union. It was originally scheduled to played at the 6,000-seat Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond but that building failed NCAA inspection. The Ashe Center has a polyurethane playing surface and the NCAA no longer permits postseason tournament games to be played on the rubber surface. Officials attempted to locate a wood court that could be used but were unable to acquire one.
The other games in the eight-team regional are third-seeded West Liberty (27-4) against sixth-seeded Shaw (24-7) at noon, eighth-seeded and PSAC runner-up Indiana (21-8) against Virginia Union (25-2) at 5 p.m. and fifth-seeded West Chester (21-7) against Mountain East champion and fourth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit (26-5) at 7:30 p.m.
If Cal defeats Chowan, the Vulcans will play the West Liberty-Shaw winner Saturday.
The Vulcans are coming off their second consecutive PSAC tournament championship. Junior point guard Miki Glenn (19.5 ppg), the PSAC West Division Player of the Year, was the MVP of the conference tournament after scoring 73 points in three games and making 29 of 30 free throws. Glenn has made 90.5 percent of her free throws.
Sophomore forward Shatara Parsons (12.8 ppg) played well down the stretch for Cal, averaging 14.8 points and 8 rebounds during the PSAC tournament.
Cal is making its 13th NCAA tournament appearance in 15 years.
Chowan posted the first 20-win season in the program’s history. The Braves played three of their first four games against opponents from the PSAC and had a 2-1 record. Chowan played in a season-opening tournament at Slippery Rock and defeated Seton Hill (60-56) before losing to the host team (64-62). The Braves’ most-impressive win came Nov. 24 when they defeated IUP 69-67 in Murfeesboro, Tenn.
Chowan lost twice to Virginia Union (71-64 and 67-53) in the regular season and one time to Shaw (67-64). The Braves lost again to Shaw, 86-77, in the CIAA tournament semifinals.
The Braves have three players with double-figure scoring averages, led by senior forward Alisha Mobley (15.8 points per game). Junior forward Jordan Payne (11.4) and sophomore forward Dhyamond Crenshaw (10.9) also are double-figure scorers. Chowan led the CIAA in offensive rebounding and rebounding margin. Payne is the Braves’ leading rebounder at 9.1 per game.
Chowan’s head coach, Patrick Mashuda, is from Western Pennsylvania. He is a native of Mars and played on the golf team for two years at Robert Morris. He was an assistant men’s basketball coach at La Roche and Penn State Behrend.