March 3, 2008

CALIFORNIA - The Clarion University women's basketball team will tip-off PSAC Playoff action at 6 p.m. Tuesday when it visits California.

The Golden Eagles (18-6 overall, 8-4 PSAC-West), the third-place team from the PSAC-West, are making their first appearance in the PSAC postseason since making it to the semifinals in 2005, while Cal (22-5, 9-3), the PSAC-West co-champion and second seed, is making its eighth straight appearance in the PSAC postseason. The Vulcans have advanced to the PSAC title game in each of the last seven years winning titles in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Clarion and Cal split the season series this year

Clarion and California split the season series this season with Cal winning 71-42 Jan. 19 at Cal and Clarion getting a come-from-behind 72-71 win at Clarion Feb. 9.

In the Jan. 19 contest, Cal's Crystal Andrews scored 17 points and Kayla Smith added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Vulcans, while Ashley Grimm led Clarion with nine points.

On Feb. 9, Clarion rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final 5:25 to get the 72-71 win behind 18 points and 15 rebounds off the bench from Janelle Zabresky and 14 points and five rebounds from Jessica Albanese. Andrews led Cal with 19 points, Smith added 18 points and eight rebounds and Brooque Williams had 12 points and 10 boards.

Golden Eagles feature balanced attack

Clarion, which was picked to finish last in the seven-team PSAC-West but instead has tied for the sixth-most wins in school history this season, features a balanced attacked led by seniors Jessica Albanese and Ashley Grimm, junior Katrina Greer and sophomores Sara Pratt and Janelle Zabresky.

Albanese and Greer are both 1,000-point scorers and became the first teammates at Clarion to each go over the 1,000-point mark in the same season since 1993 when Shannon Coakley and Amy Coon achieved the feat.

Greer, who reached the 1,000-point mark Saturday in a win at Slippery Rock, has 1,003 tallies in her career. She is the team's leading scorer at 14.6 ppg, which is good for eighth in the PSAC. She leads the PSAC in free-throw percentage at 90.1 percent (the school record is 84.9 percent set by Shelly Respecki in 1992 and the PSAC record is 91.3 percent set by West Chester's Kiesha Mack in 2004).

Albanese, who ranks 14th in the PSAC in scoring (12.8 ppg), 11th in rebounding (7.3 rpg), sixth in shooting (52.7 percent) and fifth in free-throw percentage (83.3 percent), is the sixth leading scorer in Clarion history with 1,228 points and the seventh leading rebounder with 677 career boards.

Grimm is the all-time leading assist giver in Clarion history with 563 and needs nine more to tie Shippensburg's Melissa Swartz for 10th in PSAC history (572). This season, Grimm leads the PSAC in assists per game (6.35) while adding 8.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 1.96 spg. She is shooting 79.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Pratt and Zabresky have solidified Clarion's inside game combining to average 18.6 ppg and 14.6 rpg while blocking 111 shots. They are the first teammates in Clarion history to each have at least 50 blocks in the same season.

Pratt is averaging 10.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2.27 bpg. She ranks second in the PSAC in blocks and is tied with Zabresky for ninth in rebounds. Her 59 blocks this season are the third most in school history - she needs two more to tie Carlita Jones for second - and her 80 career blocks ranks fourth at Clarion - she needs two to tie Heather Cigich for third.

Zabresky is averaging 8.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2.0 bpg. She is fourth in the PSAC in blocks and tied with Pratt for ninth in rebounds. Her 52 blocks this season rank sixth in school history - she needs one more to tie Cheryl Bansek for fifth and two to tie Carlita Jones for fourth - and her 69 career blocks ranks fifth all-time at Clarion.

Additional key contributors for Clarion include sophomore guards Shaina Smith (3.2 ppg), Lizzie Suwala (2.8 ppg) and Bethany Koch (1.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg).

Williams, Smith lead California

Cal, which has won five straight since losing at Clarion, which was the Vulcans third loss in a row, is paced by Williams and Smith.

Williams is the fourth-leading scorer in the PSAC at 18.9 ppg, the fifth-leading rebounder at 7.7 rpg and ranks second in the conference in steals (3.96 spg). She was the PSAC-West Player of the Week last week after helping the Vulcans to a 2-0 record by averaging 21.2 ppg and 9.0 rpg.

Smith is the sixth leading scorer (16.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.5 rpg) in the PSAC.

Additional key contributors for Cal include Andrews, Shaquetta Mance and Amber Dubyak.

Andrews leads the PSAC in steals (4.22 spg) and is second in assists (5.37 apg) while adding 10.5 ppg. Mance adds 9.8 ppg and Dubyak 8.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg.

Clarion-Cal meeting in PSAC Playoffs for the third time

This is the third time Clarion and Cal have met in the PSAC Playoffs. The teams have split their first two postseason meetings with Clarion winning 71-69 in the 1994 PSAC Title game at California, and the Vulcans coming away with a 64-61 win in the 2002 first round.

NOTES - Clarion is without the services of third-leading scorer My'Kea Cohill (violation of team and university policy) ... The Golden Eagles are looking for their first win at Cal since Feb. 1, 1995, when they beat the Vulcans 78-71. Since then, Clarion has dropped 13 straight decisions at Hamer Hall. Overall, Clarion is just 4-22 vs. Cal since the second game between the teams in 1996, but the Golden Eagles have split their last four meetings with the Vulcans ... Clarion head coach Gie Parsons is two wins shy of 400 in her career. In her 27th season as a head coach, Parsons is 398-310 including 288-237 in 19 years at Clarion. She is the winningest coach in school history ... This is Clarion's 10th PSAC playoff appearance under Parsons. The Golden Eagles won five straight PSAC-West titles from 1991-95 while winning the PSAC Title in 1991, 1993 and 1994. Clarion qualified for the NCAA Division II Playoffs in each of those seasons and advanced to the "Elite Eight" in 1991 and 1994. Clarion also qualified for the NCAA D-II playoffs in 2005 losing to Charleston (W.Va.) in the first round ... Cal, the 2004 NCAA D-II Champion, has qualified for the NCAA D-II playoffs in each of the last six seasons.

CLARION WOMEN'S BASKETBALL IN PSAC PLAYOFFS HISTORY

Record: 9-8; Quarterfinals: 2-3; Semifinals: 4-4; Title Game: 3-1