LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — The Bald Eagles win a close one 54-51 versus California Pa. as they advance to the PSAC Championship game and will match up against the Gannon Golden Knights.
Gannon started the day in an all-time classic match versus West Chester. The Golden Knights were able to pull out a close 78-73 victory, and would await and see who their opponent would be in the championship.
It was a hard-fought first half as the Bald Eagles were locked in a tight defensive battle versus the Vulcans, as neither team could do anything on the offensive end. Lock Haven shot a horrific 32% from the field in the first half, and the Vulcans shot an even worse 22%.
After the quarterfinals, Lock Haven head coach Jennifer Smith stated that more people would need to step up offensively. That certainly happened in the first half as it was redshirt freshman Abby Jacoby and junior Olivia Smith leading The Haven in scoring with five points apiece. Meanwhile, typical offensive threat Jenadia Jordan was held to just two points in the half.
As the second half began both teams came out aggressive, diving for loose balls and wrestling for any jump ball they could get. Things got so feisty on the court that the refs were forced to stop play and order each team to their benches on multiple occasions. Despite this, the game stayed clean and both teams continued to fight for their right to advance.
In the half Lock Haven’s stars finally came alive as Jenadia Jordan and Alana Robinson both scored double digits in the second half. The Bald Eagles would need every one of those points as the Vulcans led a furious comeback as they would cut the lead to one possession multiple times in the fourth quarter.
As the game was winding down it looked like Lock Haven would advance, but it was Cal’s Sierra Bermudez who hit a big three to cut the lead to 51-52 with just four seconds remaining. After an intentional foul, it was graduate senior Taylor Leidy who found herself at the line with the season resting on her two free throws.
“Don’t miss” was Leidy’s response when asked about her thought process in the moment “I have a pretty good foul shooting percentage so I just had to trust my shot and know it’s going in.”
Go in it did as Leidy hit both and watched the clock run out and celebrations begin as Lock Haven advanced to the PSAC Championship game for the first time since 1991.
After a hard-fought win, Lock Haven assistant coach Zach Smith could not have more praise for both teams
“I can’t congratulate our student-athletes enough with the way they showed up today on their home floor,” he said, “California Pennsylvania is a well-coached team, they are tough as nails and they gave us a fight right down to the buzzer. I had fun today, I think our student-athletes had fun today and it’s cool to win.”
Looking ahead coach Zack Smith seemed excited about the matchup versus the Gannon Golden Knights.
“They are a very good team,” he said, “They are coming in ranked number four in the country. They’re battle-tested, great coaches, great kids. If you look statistically they are a very similar team. They’re a team that defends well and we are a team that defends well. It will be a lot of fun out here tomorrow.”
It will certainly be must-see T.V. as it will be Lock Haven pitted against Gannon with the PSAC crown on the line. Tipoff for that one will be Sunday, March 10 at 3 P.M.
Ryan States is in his 3rd year at Lock Haven University, and his second with the Eagle Eye. He is a Journalism major with intentions to minor in Sports Management. With his never-ending passion for all things sports, he wishes to pursue a career as a sports writer for a major outlet. When not watching sports, he can be found playing video games, hanging out with friends at the REC. Or you can find him helping out in the booth during LHU sporting events. His biggest hope while at Lock Haven is to be able to positively contribute to LHU sports in any way he can.
