Gannon to Host PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals and Championship
PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Mar. 4 (pdf)
Host Gannon's Tournament Headquarters
No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Gannon will host the PSAC women's basketball tournament semifinals and championship game this weekend as the Golden Knights look to win their first PSAC championship and enter the NCAA Tournament with a perfect record. There will be a new champion this year, as three-time defending champion IUP was knocked out of this year's tournament by California in the quarterfinals.
PSAC Tournament Quick Hits
- West Chester and California will both make an appearance in the semifinals together for the third straight year.
- West Chester is in its fourth straight PSAC tournament, while Cal has the longest current streak of appearances, having appeared in 10 straight PSAC Tournaments
- This marks the first time in nine years that Millersville is missing from the PSAC semifinals.
- This is the 10th straight year that California has made it to the semifinals.
- This is Gannon’s first-ever appearance in the PSAC semifinals.
- This is Kutztown’s first appearance in the semifinals since 2006.
- California has played in the championship game in each of the last nine consecutive seasons
- West Chester has not made it to the championship game since 2003, while Kutztown and Gannon have never played in the championship game.
- The Western Division has won the last four, 13 of the last 14, and 15 of the last 17 tournament titles (Shippensburg played in the Western Division up until last year). Millersville is the only Eastern Division school since 1995 to win a title, that coming in 2005.
PSAC Tournament History (since 1982)
Year Champion Championship Game
2009 IUP IUP 60, California (Pa.) 51
2008 IUP IUP 67, California (Pa.) 63
2007 IUP IUP 63, California (Pa.) 53
2006 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 63, Edinboro 59
2005 Millersville Millersville 76, California (Pa.) 71
2004 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 87, Shippensburg 54
2003 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 58, West Chester 54
2002 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 63, Millersville 60
2001 Shippensburg Shippensburg 86, California (Pa.) 71
2000 Shippensburg Shippensburg 83, Millersville 57
1999 Shippensburg Shippensburg 92, IUP 85
1998 Shippensburg Shippensburg 83, Edinboro 80 (ot)
1997 Shippensburg Shippensburg 89, Edinboro 74
1996 Shippensburg Shippensburg 87, Slippery Rock 67
1995 East Stroudsburg East Stroudsburg 80, Clarion 71
1994 Clarion Clarion 71, California (Pa.) 69
1993 Clarion Clarion 104, Edinboro 81
1992 Bloomsburg Bloomsburg 70, Edinboro 40
1991 Clarion Clarion 87, Lock Haven 71
1990 Edinboro Edinboro 77, Lock Haven 67
1989 Lock Haven Lock Haven 70, Edinboro 62
1988 IUP IUP 68, Millersville 50
1987 Millersville Millersville 87, Lock Haven 71
1986 Slippery Rock Slippery Rock 74, East Stroudsburg 58
1985 Lock Haven Lock Haven 75, East Stroudsburg 67
1984 Millersville Millersville 69, Shippensburg 54
1983 Cheyney Cheyney 89, Slippery Rock 38
1982 Cheyney Cheyney 92, Slippery Rock 33
Game Previews
West Chester vs. California
Friday, March 5 - 5:30 p.m.
Leading Scorers
West Chester - Janelle Garber (11.0 ppg); Renata Neal (10.9 ppg); Allison Hostetter (10.3 ppg)
California - Brooque Williams (21.1 ppg); Kayla Smith (15.9 ppg); Crystal Andrews (9.6 ppg)
Leading Rebounders
West Chester - Renata Neal (7.0 rpg); Allison Hostetter (6.1 rpg)
California - Kayla Smith (12.1 rpg); Brooque Williams (8.5 rpg)
Other Top Performers
West Chester - Megan Stewart (127 asst.; 93 st.); Alex Lennon (36 blks); Allison Hostetter (79 asst.; 46 st.)
California - Crystal Andrews (107 asst., 68 st.); Brooque Williams (88 asst., 111 st.); Kayla Smith (40 blks)
2009-10 Meetings
Jan. 2 (at California) - California 77, West Chester 65
PSAC Rankings
West Chester California
Scoring Off. - 69.2 (6th) Scoring Off. - 76.7 (2nd)
Scoring Def. - 62.1 (5th) Scoring Def. - 61.4 (3rd)
Free Throw Pct. - 69.7% (8th) Free Throw Pct. - 67.1% (11th)
FG Pct. Off. - 41.8% (4th) FG Pct. Off. - 45.1% (2nd)
FG Pct. Def. - 36.5% (4th) FG Pct. Def. - 39.4% (11th)
3-pt. FG Pct. - 30.6% (11th) 3-pt. FG Pct. - 33.0% (9th)
3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 33.8% (15th) 3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 32.8% (12th)
Rebounding - 41.0 (7th) Rebounding - 41.8 (3rd)
Rebounding Margin - +2.3 (6th) Rebounding Margin - +7.9 (1st)
Game Preview
West Chester is coming off a hard-fought double-overtime upset win at top-seeded Millersville in the quarterfinals while California rolled over IUP in its quarterfinal. The teams are very similar defensively, as they both hold opponents under 40 percent from the field and under 35 percent from three-point range. However, California has big advantage on the glass as the Vulcans lead the PSAC in rebounding margin behind the PSAC’s and Division II’s leading rebounder in Kayla Smith.
Behind Smith and Brooque Williams, the Vulcans have just a little bit more scoring punch than West Chester, although the Golden Rams have three players that average double figures compared to just Smith and Williams for Cal.
These are two teams with plenty of playoff experience as well, as Cal has played in the championship game in each of the last nine seasons while West Chester is making its third straight appearance in the PSAC semifinals.
Kutztown vs. Gannon
Friday, March 5 - 7:30 p.m.
Leading Scorers
Kutztown - Melissa McQuade (15.6 ppg); Rachel Wisemiller (10.4 ppg); Chauntelle Schroeder (9.2 ppg)
Gannon - Kristina Freeman (14.1 ppg); Carrie Nolan (12.1 ppg); Brittany Tabron (11.3 ppg); Kim Vargas (9.6 ppg)
Leading Rebounders
Kutztown - Melissa McQuade (8.4 rpg); Chauntelle Schroeder (6.8 rpg)
Gannon - Brittany Tabron (8.2 rpg); Kristina Freeman (5.3 rpg)
Other Top Performers
Kutztown - Vivian Melvin (111 asst.); Meredith Starr (90 asst.); Rachel Wisemiller (52 blks)
Gannon - Tiffany Crocker (160 asst.); Kristina Freeman (98 asst., 66 st.)
2009-10 Meetings
Jan. 2 (at Kutztown) - Gannon 86, Kutztown 68
PSAC Rankings
Kutztown Gannon
Scoring Off. - 70.1 (5th) Scoring Off. - 79.3 (1st)
Scoring Def. - 63.1 (7th) Scoring Def. - 57.7 (2nd)
Free Throw Pct. - 70.4% (7th) Free Throw Pct. - 73.7% (6th)
FG Pct. Off. - 41.5% (5th) FG Pct. Off. - 48.2% (1st)
FG Pct. Def. - 35.9% (3rd) FG Pct. Def. - 36.8% (5th)
3-pt. FG Pct. - 35.1% (3rd) 3-pt. FG Pct. - 38.2% (1st)
3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 30.3% (6th) 3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 28.4% (2nd)
Rebounding - 41.1 (5th) Rebounding - 40.1 (8th)
Rebounding Margin - +0.9 (9th) Rebounding Margin - +7.9 (2nd)
Game Preview
This is a matchup of two teams that usually don’t hurt themselves with mistakes, as both teams have recorded more assists than turnovers this year. Both are also strong defensively, but while Kutztown holds opponents to a lower field goal percentage than Gannon, its opponents score over five more points per game than the Golden Knights. In a game between two good defensive teams, rebounding can make a difference and Gannon has a decided advantage in that department, outrebounding its opponents by seven boards per contest.
Both squads are balanced, experienced and consistent, as both teams have started the exact same five players in each game this year. The Golden Knights have a more balanced scoring attack while Kutztown relies a bit more heavily on a pair of players for points - Melissa McQuade and Rachel Wisemiller. Gannon’s leading scorer, Kristina Freeman, was held to single digits on Tuesday but the team still scored 81 points, right around its average.