• Box Score

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (March 5) – In a rematch of the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship, the Vulcans suffered a 75-58 loss to No. 21 Edinboro at Nelson Field House on Saturday night in the finals of this year's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team drops to 22-7 this season. The Vulcans, who entered the tournament ranked fourth in the region, will likely earn an at-large bid to their 10th-consecutive NCAA Tournament tomorrow, Sunday, March 6. The field of 64 teams will released via an on-line selection show on NCAA.com, starting at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Meanwhile, Edinboro improves to 26-3 overall and claims its first PSAC Championship since 1990. The win also secures the Fighting Scots the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Junior forward Amy Johns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half on Saturday night. She finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the field and five-of-six from the free-throw line. In the PSAC Tournament, Johns was tied for the team lead with 16.3 points per game after leading the team in scoring in each of the last two games.

Senior forward Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) posted her second double-double of the tournament and 21st this season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She made 5-of-14 attempts from the field and four-of-five from the charity stripe against the Fighting Scots. The 5-11 senior also moved past Shippensburg's Stacey Cunningham (1980-84) on Saturday night for ninth place in PSAC history with 2,066 career points.

Junior Danielle Luckett (Chicago, Ill./James Hubert Blake (Md.)) rounded out the double-figure scorers for Cal U, finishing with 10 points, and freshman Kate Seebohm (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) collected five assists before fouling out.

Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch early in the game, as Edinboro held a 16-8 lead midway through the first half following a three-pointer by redshirt freshman Darche' Jackson. The Vulcans then scored six of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 18-14 with 6:28 left before halftime. Edinboro quickly reclaimed its eight-point lead, 22-14, before Cal U answered with five-straight points to cut the lead to 22-19 at the 3:05-mark. The Fighting Scots responded by scoring the last six points of the half to take a 28-19 lead into the break after posting 12 first-half points off turnovers.

Edinboro built its lead to double-digits, 31-21, early in the second half before Johns and Luckett combined to score seven-straight points to cut the deficit to 31-28 with 17:35 remaining. Johns later tied the game at 33-33 with a three-pointer before the Fighting Scots reclaimed the lead on the ensuing possession. Leading 39-38, Edinboro seized momentum of the game with a 21-6 run to take a 60-44 lead on a layup by Jackson at the 7:39-mark. During the nearly seven-minute run, Cal U made only two field-goals while Edinboro made 7-of-11 shots from the floor. The Vulcans managed to trim the deficit to 11 points, 62-51, before the Fighting Scots went on a 12-3 rally to take their largest lead of the game at 74-54 with 2:20 remaining.

After shooting roughly 50 percent in the second half, Cal U finished the game making 38.5 percent (20-of-52) of its attempts. The Vulcans struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 3-of-13 shots (23.1 percent), while compiling one of their best performances from the charity stripe, hitting 15-of-18 free-throws (83.3 percent). In comparison, the Fighting Scots made 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field and 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the charity stripe.

The Vulcans were out-rebounded for only the fifth time this season, as the Fighting Scots held a 41-35 advantage on the glass and scored 14 second-chance points. Cal U also committed 23 turnovers, which Edinboro converted into 20 points.

Jackson scored a game-high 24 points (12 each half) off the bench behind 9-of-18 shooting. Junior Renee' Brown finished with 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore Samantha Blazetic added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Edinboro, who was the top seed in the Atlantic Region at the start of the week, will likely serve as host of the eight-team NCAA Regional Tournament next weekend. Like the Fighting Scots, Glenville State of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and Shaw of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) captured automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament by winning their respective conferences.

To view the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday night, please click here.