Cal women stun Gannon, earn NCAA berth
ERIE – The California University women’s basketball team raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half on Sunday afternoon before capturing the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship with a 75-63 win over No. 14 Gannon at the Highmark Events Center.
The Vulcans improved to 21-10 overall and secured an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. Cal earned the seventh PSAC Championship in program history and its first since winning back-to-back league titles in 2015 and 2016. The Vulcans, who finished second in the PSAC West standings, defeated the top seed from both divisions (West Chester and Gannon) over the weekend. Meanwhile, Gannon falls to 29-4 this season while suffering just its second home loss of the year. The Lady Knights were slotted second in the latest NCAA Atlantic regional rankings and remain in position to still receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Allycia Harris was chosen the PSAC Tournament MVP after finishing with 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds (nine offensive) on Sunday. She made 6-of-13 shots from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line while playing 38 minutes. Over the weekend, Harris totaled 29 points and 27 rebounds while averaging 32.5 minutes per game.
Junior Halle Herrington led the team with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three-of-four from beyond the arc. Senior Ciaira Loyd finished with 16 points, three rebounds and seven assists in the victory, while teammate Rajah Fink posted 12 points, five rebounds (three offensive) and two blocks. Junior Jordan Smith tallied eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
The Vulcans held a 9-2 lead at the initial media timeout of the game after collecting four offensive rebounds in the opening two minutes. During the run, Fink made a corner three-pointer at the 7:03-mark on a pass from Loyd right before the shot clock expired. Cal expanded the lead to 12-2 before Gannon snapped a six-minute scoreless drought with a pair of free-throws with 2:26 left in the first quarter. Following a three-pointer by the Lady Knights, Harris stretched the lead to 18-7 behind four-straight points before Gannon made a layup at the quarter buzzer, 18-9. The Vulcans limited the Lady Knights to just 3-of-14 shooting in the first quarter and kept 2023 PSAC West Athlete of the Year Samantha Pirosko scoreless after she scored a career-high 33 points yesterday.
In the opening two-plus minutes of the second quarter, Cal stretched the lead to 25-11 on a layup by Harris. Pirosko scored her initial points of the game with 7:02 left in the second quarter to spark a run of six straight points by the Lady Knights that cut the deficit to 25-17. Cal quickly answered with a three-pointer by Herrington on the next possession. The Vulcans were then held scoreless for nearly two minutes before mounting a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 38-19. Gannon scored the final four points of the first half to enter the break trailing by a 38-23 margin. The Vulcans shot 7-of-13 from the floor in the second quarter and held the Lady Knights to only 1-of-10 shooting from long range in the first half.
Cal finished the game shooting 48.0 percent (24-of-50) from the floor and converted 22-of-29 (75.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Gannon shot at a 39.3 clip (24-of-61) while going just 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Vulcans held a 37-28 rebounding advantage and forced 16 turnovers .
Gannon senior Madison Demski led the team with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Pirosko finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the floor, eight rebounds and two blocks. Junior Maddy Wheatley posted 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.