Survive and Advance! #4 Women’s Basketball soars past #5 Cal (Pa.) in first round of NCAA Tournament

ERIE– The No. 4 seed Lock Haven women’s basketball team overcame a one-point, first-half deficit to take down fifth seeded California (Pa.), 74-60, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday (March 15) at Gannon University’s Hagerty Family Events Center.

With the victory, the Bald Eagles improve to 29-3 on the year and will have a chance to win its first NCAA Tournament second round contest in four decades when the Bald Eagles take on either top-seeded Gannon or eighth-seeded West Virginia State in the Atlantic Regional Semifinals on Sunday (March 17).

“They picked us to finish sixth in conference at the beginning of the year and we have done some amazing things and the best part is we aren’t done,” Head Coach Jennifer Smith said. “We want, from here on out, for people to respect when they see they’re playing Lock Haven women’s basketball.”

Friday’s contest marked the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Lock Haven since 1991 and marked the fourth time the Bald Eagles have reached the big dance in program history.

Meeting for the third time this season, the two programs played as advertised and were physical on both ends of the floor for the full 40 minutes.

It came down to a battle at the charity stripe, where Lock Haven knocked down a game-high 29 free throws on 34 attempts (85 percent). The Vulcans shot 20-of-29 (69 percent) at the foul line for the game.

Lock Haven drilled 14-of-17 free-throw attempts in the final period to seal the victory.

The Bald Eagles also held advantages in points-off-turnovers (18-13), second-chance-points (20-12) and fast-break-points (19-12).

The contest featured 15 lead changes, with the turning point coming with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter and Lock Haven trailing 44-39.

The Bald Eagles erupted on a 22-8 run over the ensuing eight minutes to take a 61-52 lead, their largest of the game.

The Vulcans cut the deficit to five with 3:38 to go, but Lock Haven went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe to close out the 14-point victory.

When the game started to turn in Cal’s favor, the Bald Eagles turned to Jenadia Jordan (York, Pa./Linden Hall), who finished with a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jordan was lights out at the foul line, knocking down 13-of-14 attempts.

Alana Robinson (Rockaway, N.J./Pope John Paul II) was electric on both ends of the court and finished with 20 points, four rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Robinson didn’t miss a free throw as she netted all 10 of her attempts.

Freshman Madeline Evans (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) was impressive in her first NCAA Tournament game as she chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Rhlyn Rouse (York, Pa./York Tech) was just as impressive and added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Lock Haven started the game 0-of-5 from the floor, but the defense was lights out and the bald Eagles knocked down 6-of-7 shots at the foul line to lead 14-13 after the first period.

In the second quarter, Cal (Pa.) outscored the Bald Eagles, 16-14, to lead 29-28 heading into the break. The period featured eight lead changes, while Cal benefitted from 11 points off Bald Eagles’ turnovers.

For the Vulcans, Dejah Terrell led the way with an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double.

NEXT UP

The Bald Eagles return to the court on Sunday (March 17) for the Atlantic Regional Semifinals and will take on the winner of No. 1 Gannon and No. 8 West Virginia State.