Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – Senior guard Natalie Winters finished her collegiate career with 15 points while classmate Janelle Garber concluded her stellar career with 11 points, but it was not enough as Cal outraced West Chester in an 81-63 victory in the first of two conference semifinals.
The Vulcans advance to take on No. 1-ranked Gannon (32-0), who was an 81-65 winner over Kutztown (19-10) in the other semifinal, on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the PSAC Championship Game.
West Chester (19-10) saw its season come to a close in the conference semifinals for a third consecutive year while Cal (23-6) advances to its fourth straight conference championship title game with the win.
“(Cal) shot the ball well, which is easy to do when you are getting wide open layups,” Kane added. “Their offensive boards and transition in the first half just set the tone for the whole game.”
The Golden Rams scored the first six points of the contest. However, the Vulcans went on a 25-4 run over just a five-minute span to take control of the game in the first frame. With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Cal had grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to West Chester’s five defensive caroms and had already forced 10 turnovers.
“Cal is very comparable to Millersville,” senior guard Natalie Winters said. “They are in your shorts the entire game, making you move quicker than you want to. They force you to take shots you wouldn’t normally take, if you were playing at a different pace. I think we did a much better job of dealing with their pressure in the second half.”
Indeed, the Golden Rams made their run early in the second frame with a 17-6 run that cut a 20-point deficit down to nine (60-51) with 10 minutes left in the game.
“I thought we had some momentum going when we cut it to nine and they called timeout,” Winters said. “But, they came out of that timeout strong and just put the hammer down on us.”
Jillian Keefer posted the final five points of the run as she finished with a team-high 16 points off the bench. West Chester’s bench accounted for 35 of the team’s 63 points in the loss.
“I thought our defensive intensity was strong at the start,” Cal head coach Mark Swasey said. “But, I think we lost our focus a little bit later on. Part of that is due to the way West Chester played. Their full-court pressure was exceptional tonight, and their changing of defenses really disrupted us as times.”
Cal shot just 37.9 percent from the field in the second half, compared to West Chester’s 50 percent. However, the Vulcans still managed to outscore the Golden Rams, 38-36. A lot of that had to do with that transition game ignited by Smith’s presence in the middle.
Cal registered three players with a double-double. In addition to Smith’s 15 points and 12 rebounds, Amy Johns scored 14 points and grabbed 11 boards and Brooque Williams totaled a game-high 26 points and notched 12 rebounds. Danielle Luckett added 13 points off the bench.
“I wouldn’t have (wanted to end my career) any other way,” Winters said. “I love this game, and I’m glad I could go out on that type of a note. All of our seniors played well tonight.”
Renata Neal closed out her college career with seven points and six rebounds, and Bridget Carlin grabbed one rebound and dished out two assists
