CALIFORNIA, Pa. – An early-season battle between a pair of senior All-America forwards more than lived up to its billing here Saturday as host California (Pa.) held off West Liberty, 84-68, in the MEC/PSAC Women's Basketball Crossover at the Vulcans' Convocation Center.
    Seairra Barrett had a career-high 41 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 5 steals for the victorious hosts but WLU pivot Marissa Brown was just as impressive, pumping in 32 points – on 14-of-17 shooting – while grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds and swatting away 6 Vulcan shots.
    Momentum swung back and forth from the start in the mutual season opener as California opened the game with an 8-0 run only to see the Hilltoppers answer with 13 straight points to take an 13-8 lead midway through the first quarter.
    Barrett hit a jumper just ahead of the buzzer to send the Vulcans into the second quarter with a 16-15 lead and the see-saw continued when play resumed.
    An Olivia Belknap 3-pointer gave West Liberty a 28-27 lead as the clock ticked under 4 minutes but three straight Hilltopper turnovers sparked a 10-0 California run and the hosts went on to build a 39-32 halftime advantage.
    "When you go against a program that wants to dictate the way the game is played like California does, you cannot turn the ball over and give up second chance opportunities at the rate we did tonight and expect to have success," West Liberty head coach Kyle Cooper said.
    The Vulcans maintained control through the third quarter and took their biggest lead of the night, 64-46, on a short jumper by Ahmya Woodyard at 8:18 of the fourth quarter.
    Back-to-back Johnie Olkosky 3-pointers put the Hilltoppers on the comeback trail and Brown capped a 12-0 WLU run with a pair of free throws, pulling the visitors within striking range, 64-58, with 5:21 still to play.
    West Liberty got no closer, however, as the hosts got a pair of Jiahna Flood-Francis free throws at the other end to stop the bleeding and took advantage of two more Hilltopper turnovers to put the game on ice, 72-58, with 3:21 remaining.
    Brown was West Liberty's only double-figure scorer but Youngstown State transfer Morgan Brunner came off the bench with 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Olkosky, Belknap and Belmont Abbey transfer Taylor Johnson added 6 points each for the Hilltoppers, who shot just under 50 percent (26-of-53) from the floor and battled the Vulcans to a 33-33 draw off the glass but couldn't overcome a total of 29 turnovers.
    "There were just too many stretches tonight where we got away from who we are and what makes us effective as a basketball team," Cooper said. "As a result, we were forced to play and coach the game 'uphill' and that's very hard to do."
    Flood-Francis and Gina Vallecorsa backed Barrett with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for California.
    West Liberty returns to the Convocation Center on Sunday to close out the MEC/PSAC Challenge with a 5 p.m. game against Mercyhurst.