The No. 17-ranked West Liberty University women's basketball team punched its first-ever ticket to the NCAA Division II "Sweet 16" here Saturday afternoon with a 68-62 victory against defending national champion California (Pa.) in an Atlantic Region semifinal at the Barco-Stevens Center on the campus of Virginia Union University.

Coach Lynn Ullom's No. 3-seeded Hilltoppers (29-4) will meet top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Virginia Union (27-2) at 7 p.m. Monday with the regional title and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national championship tournament on the line. The tournament hosts eliminated No. 4 seed Wheeling Jesuit, 75-66, in Saturday's late semifinal.

After nursing a 33-31 lead into halftime, Liz Flowers shook off a tough shooting first half to help West Liberty open up a double-digit lead. Flowers, who had poured in 40 points to pace WLU's 85-70 quarterfinal victory against Shaw on Friday, was just 2-of-14 from the floor in the first two quarters but bounced back to tally 10 of her 18 points in the third frame as WLU took command.

Kiki Simpson opened the second half with two quick baskets and a Flowers 3-pointer made it 40-34 with 6:42 on the clock. With the West Liberty defense in lock-down mode, a conventional 3-point play by Flowers soon pushed the margin to 48-38 at the 4:42 mark. Kailee Howe's 12-foot jumper gave the Hilltoppers their largest lead of the game, 50-38, on the next possession and WLU took a 54-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.

California, which had edged West Liberty, 69-64, in the semifinals of last year's Atlantic Region tournament, refused to fold and opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to make it a one-possession game, 56-54, with seven minutes left.

The Hilltoppers didn't let the Vulcans get over the hump as Howe answered three straight California scores with hoops of her own to hold the defending champs at bay.

The Vulcans finally closed to 63-62 on an 18-foot jumper by two-time All-Region guard Miki Glenn with just 1:10 remaining but West Liberty coolly ran the shot clock down into single digits before Flowers knifed down the lane for a layup to make it 65-62 with just 48 ticks left.

Howe then came through with the play of the game, picking off a pass from Glenn before the Vulcans could even get into their offensive set.

West Liberty ran the clock all the way down to 16 seconds before Howe was fouled. It was only the third foul of the quarter by California so the Vulcans quickly committed two more, sending Simpson to the line with 12 seconds left.

Just a 60-percent foul shooter on the season, the MEC Player of the Year calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the win. After a Vulcan miss, Howe added another charity toss to complete the scoring.

"We were really prepared mentally for this game," Simpson said. "We had beaten them earlier in the season so we came in here with the confidence that we could win. It is an unbelievable feeling right now to be where we are as a team, getting ready to play for a regional championship."

Simpson was a huge factor in the contest, leading the Hilltoppers with 22 points and 14 rebounds. She also blocked a West Liberty tournament record 8 shots and altered several others as the Hilltoppers held California to 35 percent (24-of-68) shooting from the floor. 

The Hilltoppers also pulled a 42-40 edge off the glass, which had been a point of emphasis in game preparation.

"I really thought our rebounding won the game because (California) lives on second chances," Ullom said. "We're not used to seeing that level of length and athleticism. I'm so proud of the way this team has risen to the challenge."

Ullom also had praise for his other first-team All-MEC seniors – Flowers and Howe – who joined Simpson in making a run at a triple-double.

Howe set an NCAA Division II single-season record for assists in the first half and spent the rest of the game adding to it, finishing with 15 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Flowers bounced back from her tough first half to stuff the stat sheet with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

"This has been a special year with a great team and even better senior leadership," Ullom said. "I'm so happy to see the girls reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication and I hope we can keep it going."

Glenn and Precious Martin each had 18 points to pace the Vulcans. Shatara Parsons added 16 in a losing cause.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

X Howe's 315 assists this year eclipsed the 24-year-old NCAA Division II single-season record of 309 assists, held by Selina Bynum of Albany State (Ga.) 

X Simpson's 440 rebounds lead all NCAA Division II women this season and ranks among the top 15 seasons all-time

X Flowers surpassed the 2,100-point career milestone on Saturday and set a school record by playing in her 126th career game

X The West Liberty women are 57-3 over the last four years when holding teams under 70 points