• Box Score

ERIE (March 6) – After racing out to a 16-point halftime lead, the Vulcans posted an 81-63 victory over West Chester at the Hammermill Center on Friday evening in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament hosted by Gannon.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team moves to 23-6 overall this year and will face No. 1 and PSAC West-champion Gannon in the championship of the PSAC Tournament tomorrow, March 6, at 7 p.m. The Vulcans have now advanced to a league-record 10-straight PSAC Finals (2001-10).

The Golden Knights posted an 81-65 victory over Kutztown after leading by seven points at halftime in the other PSAC Semifinal game on Friday night. During the regular season, Gannon swept the season series with Cal U after the two teams split the regular-season series last year in the Golden Knights' first year in the PSAC. In the only post-season meeting between the two teams, the Vulcans posted a win over the Golden Knights in the Sweet 16 last season.

Senior guard Brooque Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) joined elite company after finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds against West Chester. She is now one of only seven players in PSAC history to amass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Prior to the start of the season, there were only a total of 24 players in NCAA Division II history to reach the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound plateau.

Junior forward Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) registered her 23rd double-double of the season, posting 15 points and 12 rebounds (nine offensive). She now ranks fourth in school history with 903 career rebounds, moving past Stephanie Myers (1988-91) and Denise Hearn (1982-85) on Friday. Smith also is within reach of breaking the single-season school record of 366 rebounds set by Heather Corby in 1998-99.

Redshirt sophomore forward Amy Johns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport/Xavier) posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) against West Chester. Sophomore guard Danielle Luckett (Chicago, Ill./James Hubert Blake) set a career high with 13 points on six-of-seven shooting off the bench.

After West Chester tied the game at 10-10 in the first half, Cal U scored 10-straight points behind a pair of three-pointers by sophomore guard Stephanie Michael (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) over a span of 3:57 to take a 25-10 lead with 10:03 left. The Golden Rams then trimmed the lead to 10 points twice in the first half with senior forward Janelle Garber making it a 35-25 deficit with 2:39 remaining before the break. The Vulcans countered by closing the half on an 8-2 rally to take a 43-27 halftime lead.

In the opening two-plus minutes of the second half, the Vulcans expanded their lead to 20 points, 50-30, after Williams made a pair of free-throws. Trailing 60-42, West Chester scored nine-straight points to cut the deficit to 60-51 with 10:00 remaining. Cal U countered with an 11-4 rally to seal the win and expand its lead to 71-54 on a lay-up by Luckett with 6:22 left in the game.

After shooting 50 percent in the first half, Cal U finished the game shooting 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the floor. Meanwhile, West Chester made 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the field after shooting 50 percent in the second half. Both teams struggled from the free-throw line as neither team shot above 65 percent from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Jill Keefer led four Golden Rams scoring in double-figures, finishing with 16 points off the bench and senior guard Natalie Winters also added 15 points off the bench.

The Vulcans held a 47-37 advantage on the glass as the trio of Smith, Williams and Johns combined for nearly as many rebounds as the Golden Rams (37-35). The Cal U defense collected 15 steals after pressuring West Chester into 25 turnovers, which were converted into 34 points by the Vulcans.

Cal U will make its 10th-conseuctive appearance in the PSAC Finals tomorrow, Saturday, March 6, when it faces Gannon (32-0) at the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa., at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the PSAC Championship on-line via live video through B2 Networks and live stats.