Williams’ steal sends Cal women into PSAC quarterfinals
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Associated Press
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By the Observer-Reporter
CALIFORNIA – The California women’s basketball team still has a chance to repeat as PSAC champion.
The Vulcans advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament with a 70-65 victory over Seton Hill in the opening round Monday night at the Convocation Center.
The win was Cal’s eighth in a row.
The game, however, was anything but routine.
California (22-7) played one of its best 20-minute stretches of the season in the first half as it built a seemingly safe 45-23 halftime lead.
“It was definitely a tale of two halves,” said Cal coach Jess Strom. “The first half, we came out with lots of energy and lots of confidence. It seemed like everybody was scoring.”
The second half, however, was a turnover-filled affair for the Vulcans as Seton Hill erased a 26-point deficit and tied the score with 2:20 remaining.
Cal’s Sierra Bermudez made one of two free throws to put Cal ahead again, 66-65, with 57 seconds remaining, and the Vulcans’ Dejah Terrell came up with a steal that set up a free throw by teammate Nina Shaw with 20 seconds to play.
Shaw missed the second of her two free throws. Seton Hill rebounded and quickly called a timeout to set up a potential game-winning shot. However, Cal’s Kimaya Williams made the play of the game.
Williams stole the inbounds pass and sprinted upcourt for a game-clinching layup that put Cal ahead, 69-65, with 16 seconds left.
“We’ve had a lot of close games this year,” Strom pointed out. “It seems like a different person every game makes the big play.”
The win sends Cal, the No. 3 seed in the West, into the quarterfinals Wednesday at second-seeded Indiana (21-6), which had a first-round bye. The Vulcans defeated IUP, 61-60, on Feb. 28 at the Convocation Center but lost at IUP, 61-51, in January.
“We turned it over way too much. It bit us a bit,” Strom said. “But we pulled it out at the end. We’re super exited to move on to the next round.”
Against Seton Hill (14-15), Cal shot 56 percent in the first half and led 24-17 after one quarter. The Vulcans outscored the Griffins 21-6 in the second quarter to take a 22-point lead into halftime.
The Vulcans increased their lead to 49-23 in the opening minute of the second half.
Then, Seton Hill got hot from the perimeter and began forcing Cal turnovers at an alarming rate.
The Griffins outscored Cal 23-15 in the third quarter to close to within 60-46. Hallie Cowman, who finished with 14 points, made three shots from three-point range during the quarter to swing the momentum in Seton Hill’s favor.
The Griffins, who forced 23 California turnovers, continued to chip away at the deficit in the fourth quarter and finally pulled even at 65-65 when Helene Cowan made a jumper from the lane.
DeJah Terrell had a double-double for Cal, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Alicia Young added 12 points and Burmudez finished 11, 10 coming in the first half.
Christian Frye, the third-leading scorer in the PSAC, led Seton Hill with 20 points. Helene Cowan scored 15.
The California men will begin conference tournament play Wednesday (6 p.m.) in the quarterfinals at home against Slippery Rock, which held off Seton Hill, 71-69, in the first round Monday night.