HTML Box Score
By Joe Mattis
ERIE, PA – Stephanie Michael scored 25 points and Ashley Hines grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds to lead California (Pa.) past Edinboro 80-72 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II women’s Atlantic Regional hosted by Gannon University.
The Vulcans (21-8), the No. 7 seed who gained an at-large seed from the PSAC, led 42-34 at halftime and never let the Fighting Scots get closer than five points while securing its first win this season in three games against Edinboro.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Vulcan coach Jess Strom said Cal snapped a eight-game losing streak to the Scots. “It’s nice to be on the other side.”
A big part of the win was Cal’s shooting. After making just 12 and 19 field goals in losses to the Scots, the Vulcans hit 29 of 61 shots including a hot 9 of 19 3-pointers. That shooting, a 37-31 rebound advantage against a taller team and just 12 turnovers, made the difference.
“You can see we were outsized,” Strom said. “A lot of times, heart outweighs a lot of things.”
Michael, who had scoring help from Ryah Gadson (14 points) and Emma Mahady (13), made 5 of 10 threes and 4 of 4 free throws. “When my teammates are playing well, I play better,” Michael said. “We run off each other.”
Seven of Hines rebounds came on the offensive end, which helped the Vulcans keep the ball out of the Scots hands. “I just have a feel for the ball,” said the junior who is listed at 5-10.
“She’s probably 5-6,” said Strom about Hines’ height. And about her rebounding, she said, “She reads where the ball is coming off.”
Edinboro (22-7), the No. 2 seed from the highly-competitive PSAC, was hampered by a knee injury to Samantha Blazetic. The 6-3 senior, who missed the Scots last game, played briefly in the first half. But was on the floor for 14 minutes after intermission and scored 11 points.
“I kinda ignored it knowing it could be my last game,” said Blazetic, who was limping noticeably after the game."
“We didn’t get to play the way we like to play,” said Boro coach Stan Swank. “With Blaze (Blazetic) hurt, we couldn’t do what we wanted to do. But (Cal) played a great game.”
Aignee Freeland, Edinboro’s 6-3 freshman, picked up the slack for the Scots. She scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. “Blaze was like my partner,” Freeland said. “I tried to pick it up.”
Darche’ Jackson scored 19 points – 14 in the second half, and Laurel Lindsay added 10 points and a game-high six assists for Edinboro. Senior Kiara Brown, who transferred from Cal to Edinboro three years ago and has always played well against her former team, was limited to five points and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
Cal will play Glenville State, a 111-86 winner over Shaw, in the semifinals. The Vulcans topped the high-scoring Pioneers 102-55 early in the season. “I don’t think we can look back to the first time we played,” Strom said. “They are a different team.”
