ERIE, Pa. (March 5) – The California (PA) women's basketball team raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half on Sunday afternoon before capturing the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship with a 75-63 win over No. 14 Gannon at the Highmark Events Center.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 21-10 overall and secure an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. Cal earned the seventh PSAC Championship in program history and its first since winning back-to-back league titles in 2015 and 2016. The Vulcans, which finished second in the PSAC West standings, defeated the top seed from both divisions (West Chester, Gannon) over the weekend. Meanwhile, Gannon falls to 29-4 this season while suffering just its second home loss of the year. The Lady Knights were slotted second in the latest NCAA Atlantic regional rankings and remain in position to still receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) was chosen the PSAC Tournament MVP after finishing with 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds (nine offensive) on Sunday. She made 6-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line while playing 38 minutes. Over the weekend, Harris totaled 29 points and 27 rebounds while averaging 32.5 minutes per game.

Junior Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) led the team with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three-of-four from beyond the arc. Senior Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) finished with 16 points, three rebounds and seven assists in the victory, while classmate Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) posted 12 points, five rebounds (three offensive) and two blocks. Junior Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) tallied eight points, five rebounds and three steals.

The Vulcans held a 9-2 lead at the initial media timeout of the game after collecting four offensive rebounds in the opening two minutes. During the run, Fink made a corner three-pointer at the 7:03-mark on a pass from Loyd right before the shot clock expired. Cal expanded the lead to 12-2 before Gannon snapped a six-minute scoreless drought with a pair of free-throws with 2:26 left in the first quarter. Following a three-pointer by the Lady Knights, Harris stretched the lead to 18-7 behind four-straight points before Gannon made a layup at the quarter buzzer, 18-9. The Vulcans limited the Lady Knights to just 3-of-14 shooting in the first quarter and kept 2023 PSAC West Athlete of the Year Samantha Pirosko scoreless after she scored a career-high 33 points yesterday.

In the opening two-plus minutes of the second quarter, Cal stretched the lead to 25-11 on a layup by Harris at the 7:50-mark to prompt a Gannon timeout. Pirosko scored her initial points of the game with 7:02 left in the second quarter to spark a run of six-straight points by the Lady Knights that cut the deficit to 25-17. Cal quickly answered with a three-pointer by Herrington on the next possession at the 5:45-mark. The Vulcans were then held scoreless for nearly two minutes before mounting a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 38-19 on a rare three-pointer followed by and-one from Herrington with 1:01 left in the second quarter. Gannon scored the final four points of the first half to enter the break trailing by a 38-23 margin. The Vulcans shot 7-of-13 from the floor in the second quarter and held the Lady Knights to only 1-of-10 shooting from long range in the first half.

The Lady Knights made the opening basket of the third quarter before the Vulcans scored six of eight points to take a 44-27 lead on a jumper by Loyd at the 8:00-mark. Gannon worked the deficit down to 46-32 with 7:04 left in the quarter before being held scoreless for nearly two minutes. Cal went the remainder of the quarter without scoring a field goal; however, it made seven free-throw attempts to maintain a 53-36 lead at the 2:44-mark. The Lady Knights snapped a three-minute scoreless drought with a pair of baskets in a span of 36 seconds to cut the deficit to 53-40 at the end of the quarter.

Cal scored the initial points of the fourth quarter before Gannon mounted a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 57-49, and force a timeout by the Vulcans with 6:16 left to play. Fink made a pair of free-throws on the next possession after Pirosko was whistled for her fourth foul; however, the Lady Knights countered with a three-point play to work the deficit to 59-52 at the 5:29-mark. Smith later made a corner trey to stretch the lead to 62-54 prior to the final media timeout with 4:45 remaining. Gannon answered with four-straight points to make it a 62-58 contest after a pair of free-throws by 2022 PSAC Tournament MVP Emma Wright at the 3:08-mark.

The Vulcans responded with an 11-2 run over two minutes to seal the victory behind a combined nine points by Harris and Loyd with 42 seconds left. Pirosko converted a three-point play on the ensuing possession before Loyd a pair of free-throws with 15 seconds remaining.

Cal finished the game shooting 48.0 percent (24-of-50) from the floor and converted 22-of-29 (75.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Gannon shot at a 39.3 clip (24-of-61) while going just 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Vulcans held a 37-28 rebounding advantage and forced 16 turnovers in the victory.

Gannon senior Madison Demski led the team with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Pirosko finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the floor, eight rebounds and two blocks, while junior Maddy Wheatley posted 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the loss.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be webstreamed on NCAA.com later tonight.