• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (March 2) – Behind a combined 33 points from guards Chelsea McKnight (Grove City, Ohio/Harvest Prep) and Stephanie Michael (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown), the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team cruised to a 72-42 victory over Clarion in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the Vulcans improve to 20-7 overall and advance to face Gannon, the top seed from the PSAC West, at the Hammermill Center on Tuesday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m. Cal U has now reached the 20-win plateau 11 times in the last 12 seasons and has won four of five post-season meetings against Clarion. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles finish the year with a 13-16 record after making their first appearance in the league tournament since 2009.

Michael scored a game-high 18 points after tying her career high with six three-pointers on Saturday. She finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and also collected four assists in the victory. Michael has scored in double figures in five-straight games and ranks seventh in the league in scoring with a career-high 13.9 points per game.

McKnight finished with 15 points (all in the second half) on 6-of-10 attempts from the floor, including three-of-four from beyond the arc. Junior forwards Elena Antonenko (Moscow, Russia/State University of Physical Education) and Ashley Hines (Newark, N.J./Trenton Central) both posted nine points and collected 10 and seven rebounds, respectively. Junior guard Kate Seebohm (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) added seven points and tied her season high with eight assists.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening minutes, combining for only six points in the first five minutes before Michael made a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions. With the game tied at 11-11, the Vulcans mounted an 18-2 run over six-plus minutes to take a 29-13 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half. Cal U later took a 29-15 lead at the break after Antonenko scored all nine of her points in the opening half.

The Vulcans started the second half with a 13-4 rally to stretch the lead to 42-19 with 15:24 remaining. Cal U was then held scoreless for four-plus minutes before McKnight scored her first points of the game with 11:15 left to play, 44-23. The Vulcans later increased the lead to 30 points, 72-42, in the final minute of the game, as McKnight and Michael combined to score 12 of the team's last 14 points.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, including a 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc. In comparison, the Golden Eagles were limited to making 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the field and made just 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from three-point territory. Clarion held a 36-35 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 32 points off turnovers after forcing the Golden Eagles into a season-high 29 turnovers.

Clarion sophomore Hanna Heeter recorded her 16th double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Emma Fickel led the team with 13 points off the bench in the losing effort.

Cal U travels to face Gannon in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament on Tuesday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m. The teams are meeting in the post-season for the first time since the Golden Knights posted a 77-68 victory in the 2010 PSAC Championship.