Vulcans advance to PSAC championship game
ERIE – The California University women’s basketball team will play for the PSAC championship.
California put five players in double figures, led by Ciaira Loyd’s 14 points, and defeated East Division champion West Chester 62-59 in the PSAC tournament semifinals Saturday at Gannon’s Highmark Events Center
Cal improves to 20-1, its eighth-straight season with at least 20 victories. The Vulcans advance to the PSAC championship for the fifth time since 2015 and will face Gannon for the league title Sunday at 3 p.m.
West Chester falls to 22-8 while suffering its first loss since Jan. 11, snapping a 15-game winning streak.
The Vulcans’ Jordan Smith finished with 11 points on four-of-six shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Allycia Harris scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Rajah Fink tallied 12 points despite battling foul trouble.
Halle Herrington scored 13 points that included a trio of three-point field goals.
Cal mounted a 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter to take a 57-50 lead on a pair of free throws by Fink with 6:28 left. The Golden Rams countered with a 7-2 run to cut their deficit to 59-57 at the 3:49-mark before Loyd made a step-back three-pointer on the ensuing possession.
Both teams were then held scoreless for more than two minutes before West Chester cut the deficit to 62-59 with 55 seconds left to play. The Vulcans then missed a jumper and the Golden Rams received possession before calling timeout to advance the ball to the frontcourt. With fouls to give, Cal quickly was whistled for two fouls before West Chester missed a contested layup with nine seconds remaining. Harris scrambled for the ball and tossed it over midcourt to preserve the victory.