ERIE, Pa. (March 15) – The fifth-seeded Vulcans were limited to just a single field-goal over the final five minutes on Friday afternoon in a 74-60 loss to fourth-seeded Lock Haven in the first round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by Gannon at the Hagerty Family Events Center.

With the loss, the California (PA) women's basketball team finishes the year with a 23-8 overall record. Meanwhile, the No. 23 Bald Eagles improve to 29-3 this season while making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Lock Haven won all three meetings against Cal this season after previously playing during the regular season and the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament last weekend.

Redshirt senior Dejah Terrell posted her 15th double-double this season on Friday. She finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds (four offensive), plus added two blocks and one steal, in 33 minutes. Terrell eclipsed 500 points in each of her two seasons with program and finished her career ranked No. 23 in school history with 1,097 career points.

Junior Allycia Harris collected nine points and seven rebounds while being limited to 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Freshman Nina Shaw tallied 14 points, two rebounds and three assists against the Bald Eagles, while senior Jordan Smith posted eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Vulcans scored the opening two baskets of the game before Harris was forced to the bench at the 8:49-mark with two fouls. Cal held a 7-4 lead before Lock Haven made its initial basket of the game with 4:39 left in the first quarter. The Bald Eagles later scored six-straight points to take a 12-9 lead with 2:50 remaining in the quarter. The Vulcans countered with back-to-back baskets by Smith before the Bald Eagles took a 14-13 lead at the end of the quarter. Cal tallied the opening basket of the second quarter before Lock Haven rallied off eight-unanswered points to take a 22-15 lead at the 7:27-mark. Harris returned the court at the next deadball and scored four-straight points to cut the deficit to 25-21 at the media timeout. After the timeout, Cal added five-consecutive points to take a 26-25 lead with 1:41 left before the break. The Bald Eagles made three free-throws to reclaim the advantage by a 28-26 margin with 42 seconds left in the second quarter. Bermudez converted a traditional three-point play 10 seconds later to give the Vulcans a 29-28 lead at halftime. Cal limited Lock Haven to only 28.6 percent shooting (8-of-28) in the first half after being held without a field goal over the final 4:09 of the second quarter.

Midway through the third quarter, the Vulcans mounted a 10-2 run to claim a 44-39 lead on a jumper by Terrell at the 3:40-mark. Lock Haven countered with 12-straight points to close the quarter with a 51-44 lead. Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, the Vulcans snapped their scoreless drought on a layup by Terrell before cutting the deficit to 51-48 with 8:01 left. Cal trailed by a 54-52 margin before Lock Haven scored seven-unanswered points in less than a minute to take a 61-52 lead with 5:13 remaining. The Vulcans responded by scoring six of the next eight points to work the deficit to 63-58 on a layup by Harris at the 3:38-mark. Cal was held without a field goal for the remainder of the game, as Lock Haven sealed the victory by making 11-of-12 attempts from the free-throw line over the last two-plus minutes.

Cal finished the game shooting 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor while going 0-for-11 from long range. Meanwhile, Lock Haven made 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field and converted 29-of-34 (85.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Both teams finished with 42 rebounds while teams were whistled for a combined 53 fouls in the contest.

Sophomore Jenadia Jordan scored a game-high 25 points behind 13-of-14 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds and five assists. Classmate Alana Robinson – the PSAC East Athlete of the Year – posted 20 points, four rebounds and three blocks in the victory.

The Vulcans made a ninth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Cal also reached the 20-win mark for the ninth-straight year.