 
 
 |
March 7, 2008
IUP jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the opening 6:38 and never led by fewer than double digits the rest of the way in an easy 81-60 win over West Chester in the semifinals of the PSAC tournament Friday night at Memorial Field House. The Crimson Hawks (26-4) will face archrival California (24-5) in the championship game for the second straight year. The Vulcans advanced to the finals with a 63-53 victory over Millersville in Friday's first semifinal game. The title game, which will also be played at Memorial Field House, gets under way at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for students, with IUP and California students with valid IDs admitted free. IUP, which tied the record first set by the 1998-99 team for most wins in a season, will be looking for the first back-to-back PSAC titles in school history and third overall. A year ago at Millersville, the Crimson Hawks posted a 63-53 win over the Vulcans to win their first conference championship since 1988. The game against California will feature the top two teams in the NCAA East Region, with the Vulcans ranked No. 1 and IUP coming in at No. 2. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament and likely the top seed, although both teams are already assured of getting into the field. IUP improved to 22-1 against teams from the PSAC East in three seasons under head coach Cindy Martin, including the win over West Chester and a PSAC semifinal victory over Millersville a year ago. On Friday against West Chester, Jahzinga Tracey led IUP with 25 points and 16 rebounds and was followed in double figures in the scoring column by Hillary Shope with 14, Staci Heberling with 12 and Lacey Claar with 10. Heberling also had six assists and Kierstin Filla and Kylie Miller both had four, with Miller adding three of IUP's 10 steals. The Crimson Hawks held a whopping 47-28 advantage on the boards and forced 21 West Chester turnovers, including 13 in the first half when IUP built a 36-24 advantage at intermission. IUP shot 48.4 percent for the game and had assists on 23 of its 31 field goals. West Chester, which finished its season at 19-10, was led by Dana Weems with 13 points. Renata Neal had 11 points and tied Weems for the team lead with seven rebounds. Catherine Andrews also reached double figures with 12 points. |
