WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Perennial NCAA Division II Atlantic Region power roared back from a double-digit deficit here Saturday night to pull out an 81-80 victory over upset-minded West Liberty in the final game of the MEC/PSAC Women's Crossover at the ASRC.
    A conventional 3-point play with just 21 seconds to play by the Vulcans' Brionna Allen put the visitors up, 81-80, for the first time since the game's opening minute and a driving layup by WLU's Taylor Johnson rolled off the rim just before the final horn to leave the Black and Gold one point short.
    "There are no moral victories," West Liberty head coach Kyle Cooper said following the game. "I believe our program is at the point where we expect to win every time we step on the court so this does hurt. One positive I will take from this weekend is that we were tested both nights and we responded."
    A two-time national championship program coming off five straight NCAA Tournament trips and a run to last year's NCAA Division II "Sweet 16," the Vulcans scored the first basket of the game but found themselves playing catch-up the rest of the way.
    Cooper's scrappy Hilltoppers poured in 17 of the next 19 points to open up a stunning 17-4 lead midway through the opening quarter. California got the deficit down to 20-15 heading into the second 10-minute period but West Liberty dominated that quarter, as well, leading by as many as 18 points before settling for a 42-30 halftime advantage.
    A Morgan Brunner jumper gave WLU its biggest lead of the night, 66-47, in the third quarter but the visitors rallied to trail just 67-59 heading into the fourth quarter. The Vulcans closed the gap to 67-63 in the opening minute of the final quarter but the Hilltoppers had one more run. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Brunner sparked a 12-1 surge and Olivia Belknap's two free throws made its 79-64 West Liberty with only 5:24 remaining.
    But California was able to hold the Hilltoppers without a basket the rest of the way while whittling away at the lead. West Liberty carried an 80-78 lead into the final 30 seconds only to see one final turnover open the door for Allen's game-winning shot.
    "I told the girls in the locker room that we didn't lose that game on the missed shots or turnovers in the last minute," Cooper said. "We gave up some crucial offensive rebounds down the stretch and failed to execute in other areas to put ourselves in that position.
    "Make no mistake. I'm very pleased with our effort as a team, especially with the way so many people stepped up when we were working through the foul trouble early on. The challenge now is for us to take the negative of this loss and turn it into a positive learning experience to help draw us even closer together as a family."
    Brunner had another big scoring night, draining 6 3-pointers while going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 32 points. Belknap backed her with a career-high 18 points and Johnson finished with 13 points despite being limited to 22 minutes of play due to foul trouble.
    Monica Burns paced California with 21 points while Allen and Lauren Bennett added 19 and 12 points, respectively.
    The West Liberty women return to action on Wednesday when they host Clarion (Pa.) in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the ASRC.