Western Division fourth-seeded California (PA) built a 13-point halftime lead and went on to end fifth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown's season with a 67-53 victory in the First Round of the PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament, Monday evening at the Convocation Center in California.
 
Gabrielle Smith had 15 points and six rebounds, and Alli McGrath added 15 points and five rebounds, to pace the Mountain Cats, who closed out the year at 16-13.  Pitt-Johnstown also got 11 points from Olivia Fasick, four points and five rebounds from Maddie Shanahan, and six rebounds from Makalyn Clapper.
 
The Vulcans jumped out to a seven-point lead on a Bianca Jasper just over eight minutes into the opening quarter, before baskets from McGrath and Ashley Norling got Pitt-Johnstown back to within four at 20-16.
 
Smith's free-throws at the 7:27 mark of the second quarter gave the Mountain Cats a slim two-point advantage, but California (PA) outscored Pitt-Johnstown 18-3 the rest of the way to take a 38-25 lead into halftime on Shauna Harrison's 3-pointer as time expired.
 
Another 3-pointer from Harrison early in the third quarter extended the Vulcans' lead to 17, before Fasick connected from behind the arc with a minute remaining to get Pitt-Johnstown's deficit down to 52-40 entering the final quarter.
 
The Mountain Cats got as close as six at 52-46 on Smith's conventional 3-point play with 8:05 to play, but D.J. Hahn's free-throws two minutes later got the lead back into double digits, and California (PA) went on to the 14-point victory.
 
Neither team shot the ball all that well.  Pitt-Johnstown shot 35.5% (20-52) from the field, while California (PA) shot 38.3% (23-60).  However, the Vulcans hit 11-24 from behind the arc and 10-15 from the free-throw line.  The Mountain Cats were limited to 5-16 from 3-point range and 8-11 from the line.
 
Harrison's 17 points, including five 3-pointers, led for California (PA) double figure scorers.  Hahn chipped-in 15 points, and Halle Herrington and Brionna Allen each scored 10 points for the Vulcans, who improved to 21-8 and advance to the PSAC Quarterfinals to take on top-seeded Indiana (PA) on Wednesday.