Four PSAC Teams to Participate in NCAA Women's Tournament
PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Mar. 12
NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament Central
Four PSAC teams, including defending regional champion California (Pa.) and three-time defending PSAC Tournament champion IUP will participate in the NCAA Tournament, which gets underway Friday, March 13 and also runs on Saturday, March 14 with the regional final to be played on Monday, March 16. Gannon and Millersville will also take part in the regional. None of the PSAC teams are matched up against each other in the first round.
PSAC Team Notes
California Vulcans
The Vulcans earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, marking their eighth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament ... Cal U has tied Shippensburg for a league record with eight-consecutive NCAA berths ... The Vulcans are hosting a regional tournament for the first time since 2004 ... Cal U holds a 15-7 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament with three Elite Eight appearances, including last season ... The Vulcans have played in a conference-record nine-straight PSAC Finals, however, they have lost the last three to rival IUP ... In the 2009 PSAC Finals, Cal U held a 60-51 lead before being out-scored by IUP, 20-2, over the final 8:22 of the game including overtime ... Sophomore forward Kayla Smith is only five points shy of becoming the 23rd player in school history to post 1,000 career points.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon was ranked 23rd in the March 3rd USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25. The Lady Knights hosted a PSAC quarterfinal game Tuesday, March 3rd, dropping a 64-60 decision to eventual league tournament champion Indiana (Pa.) ... Junior Kristina Freeman led the team with 19 points and four assists, while junior guard Carrie Nolan added 17 points ... Junior forward Brittany Tabron contributed with a double-double, scoring ten and grabbing 14 rebounds.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP won its third straight PSAC championship with a 60-51 victory over California, rallying from a nine-point deficit with 3:04 left in regulation and outscoring the Vulcans 11-2 in the overtime period… All three of IUP's wins in the title game the past three years have come versus California… Jahzinga Tracey was named the PSAC tournament MVP for the second time in her career, averaging 20.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in wins over Gannon, West Chester and California… Tracey was also the MVP as a sophomore in 2007… During the tournament she became the all-time leading rebounder in IUP history and her total of 1,078 places her ninth in PSAC history… Tracey also moved into sixth place in the PSAC record book with 2,071 points and is fourth in field goals made with 877 and steals with 374… Eryn Withers provided a huge lift for IUP in the Final Four, scoring 31 points in the two games and had eight points on two 3-pointers and a steal and layup during the 9-0 run that ended regulation… Kierstin Filla moved into sixth place in school history with 315 assists while Kylie Miller moved within 16 points of reaching 1,000 in her career… IUP's 25 wins this season is the third most in school history… IUP has never played its first round NCAA opponent, Johnson C. Smith, in women's basketball, and is 3-4 this season versus the field, including 2-1 versus Gannon, 1-2 versus California and 0-1 versus Millersville… Crimson Hawk head coach Jeff Dow is in his fourth straight NCAA tournament after leading Anderson into the field of 64 the past three seasons… His Anderson team was one of only eight in the nation to win a first round game each of the past three tournaments.
Millersville Marauders
Millersville is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance all time and seventh under head coach Mary Fleig ... The last seven appearances have come since the 1998-99 season ... It also Millersville's second straight bid to the tournament ... Millersville faces WVIAC member Charleston in the opening round, marking the first time in four trips to the tournament that Millersville plays a non-PSAC school in the first round ... Under Fleig, Millersville is 3-3 in NCAA Tournament opening round games ... With a 23-6 record, the Marauders need two victories to tie the school record for wins which was set in 1999-2000 when the program reached the region championship game ... In the team's PSAC semifinal loss to California (Pa.), senior Gladine St. Julien scored the 1,000th point of her career. She is 18th on Millersville's all-time scoring. She and junior Jenna Craig also earned all-conference mention this week ... Julien was an All-PSAC Eastern Division First Team pick for the second time and Craig was named to the All-PSAC Eastern Division Second Team.
NCAA Tournament Quick Hits
- This year marks the first time since the 2000 NCAA Tournament that the PSAC has qualified four teams for NCAA Regionals. In 2000, Slippery Rock, Millersville, Shippensburg and IUP all were selected.
- Millersville will be making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- IUP will be making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- California (Pa.) will be making its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- Gannon will make its first NCAA appearance as a member of the PSAC but its second in the last three years. Their last NCAA appearance was in the 2007 event.
- California (Pa.) is the defending regional champion, having advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight last year. That marked the first trip for a PSAC team to the Elite Eight since Cal captured the national championship in 2004.
- The last PSAC team other than Cal to advance to the Elite Eight was Shippensburg in 2001. Of the four PSAC teams playing in the regional this weekend, the last team other than Cal to advance to the Elite Eight was IUP in 1999.
Past PSAC Regional Champions (since 1984)
2008 California (Pa.)
2004 California (Pa.)
2003 California (Pa.)
2001 Shippensburg
2000 Slippery Rock
1999 IUP
1998 Shippensburg
1997 Edinboro
1996 Shippensburg
1994 Clarion
1991 Clarion
1990 Lock Haven
1989 Bloomsburg