• Box Score

ERIE, Pa. (March 5) – Despite trailing by just eight points at halftime, the Vulcans were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Tuesday evening with a 77-50 loss to top-seeded and No. 7 Gannon at the Hammermill Center.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team falls to 20-8 overall after having its five-game winning streak snapped. The Vulcans, who have been fifth in the Atlantic Regional rankings the last two weeks, must now wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament with the selection announcement on Sunday, March 10. Meanwhile, Gannon improves to 27-3 and will face Millersville in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament on Friday, March 8.

Sophomore Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) was the lone Cal U player to score in double-digits, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-14 attempts from the floor and four-of-six from the free-throw line. In three meetings against the Lady Knights this season, she averaged a team-high 13.7 points while shooting 48.6 percent (17-of-35) from the field.

The junior trio of Elena Antonenko (Moscow, Russia/State University of Physical Education), Ryah Gadson (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) and Ashley Hines (Newark, N.J./Trenton Central) each finished with six points, while classmate Kate Seebohm (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) led the team with five rebounds and five assists. Senior Stephanie Michael (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown), the team's leading scorer, tied her season low with five points while playing 29 minutes.

Gannon, which led the entire game, opened with an 11-2 run before stretching the lead to 20-10 with 11:03 left in the first half. The Vulcans later posted an 8-4 rally over four-plus minutes to trim the deficit to 26-20 with 3:04 remaining before the break. The Lady Knights reclaimed the double-digit lead with four-straight points before taking a 33-35 lead into halftime.

The Lady Knights scored the first five points in the second half and led by 14 points, 44-30, before the Vulcans scored on three-consecutive possessions to trim the deficit to 44-36 with 13:49 remaining.  Gannon countered with a 7-0 run before Cal U later cut the lead to 55-45 with 7:38 left to play. The Lady Knights responded with another 7-0 rally before Mahady made the last field goal of the game for the Vulcans with 5:35 remaining, 62-47. Gannon then sealed the victory with a commanding 15-1 run over nearly five minutes to take a 77-48 lead with 44 seconds left.

Cal U finished the game shooting 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from the floor after making just 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc. In comparison, Gannon shot at a 56.9 clip (33-of-48) from the field and made 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from long range. The Lady Knights held a sizeable 41-20 rebounding advantage behind 15 offensive rebounds which were converted into 23 second-chance points.

Sophomore forward Nettie Blake led four Lady Knights in double-digits, scoring 20 points and adding eight rebounds. Sophomore Brittany Batts finished with 13 points and junior Jen Papich added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.