Mar 28, 2003 By The 4 min read

Cal U women outsted from NCAA Tournament California University of Pa.’s best women’s basketball season ever will come up one game short of the NCAA Division II championship game, thanks in part, ironically, to a local product.

Mapletown graduate Kristin Polosky hit two free throws for Northern Kentucky with 1:53 left and those points held up as the Norse held off the top-ranked Lady Vulcans, 45-43, in their semifinal clash at St. Joseph, Mo.

Northern Kentucky will face either Bentley or South Dakota State in the championship game on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on national TV by ESPN at 6 p.m.

“This is a heck of a way to wrap up your career,” said Polosky, who turned in another sparkling all-around performance with 10 points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocked shots with just one turnover.

“I’m sure all my friends and family back home are going to be excited.”

Sharell Snardon led the Norse with 11 points and six boards.

It was a tough loss for Lady Vulcan coach Darcie Vincent to swallow.

“We beat them in practically every category, except points,” Vincent said, “and that’s what really matters. It’s hard to believe a team’s going to the championship game after only shooting 27 percent.”

The Norse connected on only 15 of 55 shots from the field. Cal wasn’t much better in the defensive war, making only 18 of 54 for 33 percent.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Northern Kentucky coach Nancy Winstel said. “We really got after each other defensively. For the most part we took pretty good care of the ball, and we had some big defensive stops. The last couple minutes felt like all we were doing was playing defense.

“Either team could’ve won tonight. We were just fortunate to come out on top.”

California ends its season with a 33-2 record, setting a school record for wins and reached the No. 1 spot in the polls for the first time in, while Northern Kentucky improves to 26-7.

“This is definitely motivation to get back here next year,” said Cal’s Becky Siembak, who scored a game-high 14 points, but missed one of three Lady Vulcan shots in the final five seconds.

The Norse led by as much as eight in the first half before settling on a 24-21 advantage at the break.

Suzie Gyarfas converted a three-point play with 14:19 left to pull Cal even, 31-31, then Sara McKinney hit a jumper to give the Lady Vulcans a two-point lead.

California went up by five, 37-32, on Megan Storck’s jumper with 12:04 remaining.

Northern Kentucky responded with a 9-3 run that was capped by Jessica Brock’s jumper with 6:09 left to put the Norse in front 41-40.

Stacia Hamilton made one of two free throws to tie it for Cal, but Polosky hit two foul shots with 3:31 left to make it 43-41.

Cal tied it again on Siembak’s jumper with 2:11 remaining, but Polosky made two more free throws 18 seconds later.

Polosky missed her only foul shot of the game – she was six of seven – when she misfired on the front end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds left. The Lady Vulcans called time out with nine seconds remaining, but failed to convert several chances before time ran out.

“This was definitely a great game to be involved in for both the players and the coaches,” Vincent said. “The fans got everything they paid for tonight.”

Hamilton commended Vincent on the job she’s done at Cal.

“She just came in and made us work so hard, losing ceased to become an option,” said Hamilton, who scored seven points before fouling out. “No matter who we’re playing, we never expect to lose.”

McKinney scored 10 points for Cal, Storck added nine and Gyarfas grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Amy Mobley and Bridget Flanagan each chipped in with eight points for Northern Kentucky.