Lady Vulcans top West Chester, claim PSAC title
The California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team won its second consecutive PSAC tournament title and second in school history as it defeated West Chester, 58-54 at West Chester on Sunday. California is expected to be a top seed in an NCAA Division II tournament regional, probably the East Region, but official pairings weren’t released until late Sunday night.
The Lady Vulcans (29-1) held a six-point halftime lead, 34-28, and then were outscored by two-points in the second half of the game, but held on for the victory.
California’s Megan Storck scored a game-high 18 points, while Sara McKinney added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Lady Vulcan senior Suzie Gyarfas had seven points, eight rebounds and a record-setting 12 blocked shots. The blocks are a conference record for a single game. Gyarfas was named the tournament MVP.
Kiera Manlove had the hot hand for West Chester (23-7) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Kiesha Mack had 10 points and Carolyn Muldoon had nine points and 11 rebounds.
California held the Rams to 26 percent shooting from the field and out-rebounded them 43 to 39.
Last season, the Vulcans lost to Glenville in the NCAA East Region championship game and Glenville is expected to be the No. 2 seed in this year’s East Region.
Last year’s PSAC tournament was held at Glenville.