Cal U earns at-large bid to NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS (March 6) – The California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team received an at-large bid to its 10th-consecutive NCAA Tournament on Sunday night and will open play against fourth-seeded Charleston (W.Va.) of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC).

Edinboro earned the first seed and hosting rights for the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament, which will be held at McComb Fieldhouse. The opening-round games are set for March 11-12 with the regional championship game scheduled for March 14.

Cal U (22-7) and Charleston (24-7) have previously met three times (2004, 2005, 2009) in the NCAA Tournament with the Vulcans winning twice. However, the Golden Eagles posted a 68-63 victory over the Vulcans earlier this season on Dec. 30. The game will feature two legitimate All-America candidates in Cal U forward Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) and UC guard Lindsey Kentner. Smith is one of only eight players in PSAC history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career, while Kentner was selected the WVIAC Player of the Year and a Capital One First-Team Academic All-American this season.

Both the Vulcans and Golden Eagles enter the NCAA Tournament after having recently lost in their respective conference championships. Cal U boasts an all-time record of 19-9 in the NCAA Tournament after advancing to the Elite Eight four times (2003-04, 2008-09). Meanwhile, Charleston will be making its fifth appearance in the tournament in the last eight years and sixth overall.

The Atlantic Regional Champion will advance to the Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo., which was the site of the Vulcans’ 2004 National Championship.