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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Shatara Parsons hit a game-winning off-balance jump shot with 3.4 seconds remaining, as No. 5 California outlasted East Stroudsburg University by a 71-69 final in the PSAC semifinals at Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon.

The Vulcans (28-2) advance to their third-straight PSAC championship game, while the Warriors end their best season since 2006-07 with a record of 19-9.

Parsons' game-winner broke the 17th tie of a game which was extremely close throughout. ESU had one last possession to force overtime or grab the lead, but was unable to get another shot off before the buzzer.

Junior guard Imani Brown totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, while sophomore guard Noelle Powell chipped in 11 points and seniors Madison Tamburini (11) and Allison Howard (10) each reached double figures in their final collegiate contest.

Freshman guard Jordan Hertz added nine points, including a jumper in the paint which tied the game at 69-69 with 33 seconds remaining.

Parsons had 18 points (8-12 FG) and eight rebounds for California, and Seairra Bennett registered a game-high 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting.

ESU held its largest lead at 12-7 with 4:08 remaining in the opening quarter. The Vulcans used a 14-0 run over the next six minutes to open up a 21-12 edge, and they maintained a 27-18 advantage with 5:33 left in the first half.

Brown took control over the next five minutes, scoring nine of the Warriors' 12 points in a 12-0 run which helped them regain a three-point lead. ESU would ultimately take a 30-29 edge into the intermission.

Neither side led by more than four points in the entirety of the second half, and no lead was greater than two points in the fourth quarter. There were 14 ties and nine lead changes in the second half alone.

Howard gave the Warriors their final lead at 63-62 with 3:09 remaining in regulation. After a layup and a free throw on two separate California possessions, senior guard Rachel Falkowski knotted the score at 65-65 with 1:58 left on a jumper inside.

The Vulcans' next four points came from the free throw line, while Hertz accounted for all four of ESU's points to set up the deciding possession. Parsons hit the game-winner from the left side of the free throw line with under five seconds on both the game and shot clock.

California entered today leading Division II in turnover margin (+13.1), but the Warriors forced 20 Vulcan turnovers on the day while committing only 15 of their own.

Brown registered her fourth-career double-double (third this season) and her seventh-career 20+ point performance. She also added a team-high three assists, becoming the first Warrior to lead the way in points, rebounds and assists since Jessica Martin accomplished the feat on Jan. 23, 2013 against Millersville.

Howard concludes her ESU career ranked No. 7 all-time in scoring (1,270 points), No. 8 in rebounding (678, passing Claudine Simard with six boards on Saturday), No. 6 in free throws made (316) and No. 8 in blocks (71). She had 68 career 10+ point games, 12 career 20+ point efforts and 16 career double-doubles.

The Warriors finished one victory shy of the program's fifth 20-win season, but will enter the 2017-18 campaign having reached five consecutive PSAC tournaments, advancing to the quarterfinals or beyond three times during that span.

Notes:

Powell added one more 3-pointer to her season total on Saturday, ending the year with 61 made 3's overall. That ranks her No. 2 all-time in ESU single-season history, two behind Maryellen Onofre's record of 63 set in 2005-06.

Brown had 47 made 3's on the year, ranking her tied for fifth all-time at ESU. She will enter next season ranked No. 7 overall in program history with 90 career 3-pointers made.