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CALIFORNIA (Dec. 11) – The No. 10 Vulcans jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the opening minutes on Friday night at Hamer Hall before cruising to a 101-58 win over Shippensburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 6-1 this season. The Vulcans also extended their home-winning streak to 23 games with their last loss at Hamer Hall coming in February of 2008. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders drop to 5-3 this year.
Senior guard
Brooque Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-14 attempts from the floor. Fellow guards
Crystal Andrews (Johnstown, Pa./Johnstown/Pitt-Johnstown) and
Kiara Brown (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) each finished with 19 points and combined to shoot 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. Redshirt sophomore forward
Amy Johns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) added 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Williams and junior forward
Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) each collected a team-high eight rebounds while Smith also posted eight points and a game-high six assists.
The Vulcans opened the game with a dominating 20-0 run by making eight of their first 11 shots in the first 3:46 of the game. Defensively, Cal U forced Shippensburg into seven turnovers and allowed the Red Raiders to attempt only two shots in almost a four-minute span to start the game. Later in the first half, the Vulcans scored 11-unanswered points to stretch their lead to 39 points, 46-7, with 9:17 remaining before the break. Cal U entered halftime with a 55-20 lead after scoring 14 second-chance points and 31 points off turnovers.
In the first five minutes of the second half, the Vulcans mounted a 22-8 rally to stretch their lead an astounding 49 points, 77-28. During the run, Williams and Andrews each scored nine points. Cal U maintained a 40-plus point lead throughout the remainder of the game.
For the game, Cal U shot 53.6 percent (37-of-69) from the floor and a season-high 57.9 percent (11-of-29) from three-point territory. In comparison, Shippensburg was held to only a .352 field-goal percentage (19-of-54) and a .294 three-point percentage (5-17).
The Vulcans dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Red Raiders by a 50-21 margin (+29) and scoring 40 points from inside the paint. Cal U also collected 15 steals and scored 26 fast-break points after forcing Shippensburg into 24 turnovers. Andrews led all players with eight steals, while Williams registered five steals.
In the loss, Shippensburg senior forward Lauren Beckley – the 2009 PSAC East Player of the Year – was held to 15 points (four in the first half) after entering the game as the leading scorer in the PSAC.
Cal U is idle next week before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 21, when it hosts Saginaw Valley in non-conference play at 6 p.m. in Hamer Hall.