KUTZTOWN, Pa. (March 9) – The No. 21 Vulcans were unable to overcome foul trouble and turnovers on Saturday afternoon, as they were eliminated in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a 67-62 loss to Kutztown, the top seed from the Eastern Division.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team falls to 24-5 overall with four losses coming in the last 10 games. Cal U, which was slotted third in the latest NCAA regional rankings on Wednesday, must now wait to see if it receives an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament with the selections announced tomorrow, Sunday, March 10. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears improve to 19-11 this season and advance to their first-ever PSAC Championship where they will host IUP for the league title.

Redshirt senior Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) scored a game-high 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting and five-of-eight from the free-throw line. She also collected seven rebounds (four offensive) and three assists in the contest. Barrett tallied her seventh 30-point game of the year while recording only the eighth 600-point season in school history. The PSAC West Athlete of the Year also moved past Lara Thornton (1990-94) for fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list on Saturday with 1,912 points.

Senior Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) posted eight points, five rebounds and four steals, while sophomore Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) led team with nine rebounds (four offensive) and four assists, plus scored seven points, in the losing effort. Freshman Brionna Allen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) finished with four rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench.

The Vulcans struggled with early foul trouble throughout the first quarter, as junior Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) was whistled for a pair of fouls just over two minutes into the game. Kutztown took advantage by mounting an 11-1 run over three minutes to take a 14-4 lead at the 5:09-mark. The Vulcans responded by scoring eight-unanswered points, including six by Barrett, to cut the deficit to 14-12 with 1:05 left in the first quarter. The Golden Bears snapped a four-minute drought without a field goal with 40 seconds left before taking a 17-14 lead at the end of the quarter. The trio of Allen, Jasper and Vallecorsa were each whistled for two fouls in the first quarter on Saturday.

The teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter with Kutztown holding a 25-21 lead with 5:27 left before the break. The Vulcans snapped a two-plus minutes scoreless drought with a jumper by Jasper at the 3:08-mark and later scored the last seven points of the quarter to take a 30-28 lead at halftime.

Barrett scored a jumper on the initial possession for the Vulcans of the third quarter before Cal U was held scoreless for three minutes. Kutztown later scored nine-consecutive points to take a 46-36 lead with 2:37 left in the quarter. Barrett answered with back-to-back jumpers before Cal U cut the deficit to 46-43 on a three-pointer by freshman Ahmya Woodyard (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) with four seconds left.

The Vulcans scored on a layup from Barrett for the opening points of the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to 46-45. Kutztown later countered with a 12-3 run over nearly two minutes to stretch the lead to 61-51 with 4:22 remaining. Cal U then held Kutztown scoreless for over three minutes, but was only able to work the deficit down to four points, 61-57, with 1:20 left to play.  The Vulcans later scored on a jumper with 37 seconds remaining to make it a 63-60 contest before the Golden Bears sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

Cal U finished the game shooting 44.2 percent from the floor (23-of-52) and made 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Kutztown posted a .447 field-goal percentage while making just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc after entering play as the league's leader in three-pointers made and attempted. The Vulcans held a 33-25 rebounding advantage, but committed a season-high 26 turnovers that led to 22 points.

Sophomore Ryle Derr, an All-PSAC East First-Team selection, led the team with 23 points behind 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. Senior Taylor Thames tallied 12 points and four assists, while junior Brianna Tarabocchia finished with 11 points on five-of-eight shooting after battling early foul trouble.

The selection show for the NCAA Tournament will be streamed live on Sunday at approximately 10 p.m.