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CALIFORNIA (Nov. 13) – Junior transfer Ashley Hines (Newark, N.J./ Trenton Central) and sophomore Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) each scored 18 points off the bench on Tuesday night, as the Vulcans opened the regular season with an 82-57 victory over West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) preseason-favorite Fairmont State at Hamer Hall.

The California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team has won its last six season-openers and 10 of its last 11 with the only loss coming at Pittsburgh (2006-07). Fairmont State falls to 1-2 this season after returning all five starters from a team that finished 18-10 last year.

Hines recorded a double-double in her regular-season debut with the program, finishing with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds (nine offensive). She made 6-of-10 attempts from the floor and six-of-eight attempts from the free-throw line. Hines, who previously played at Potomac State (W.Va.), also collected three assists in 24 minutes off the bench.

Mahady established a career high with 18 points on Tuesday, shooting 8-of-17 from the field. She also collected four rebounds, two assists and three steals while playing 33 minutes.

Sophomore Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) also set a career high against the Fighting Falcons, finishing with 12 points on five-of-seven attempts. Junior forward Elena Antonenko (Moscow, Russia/State University of Physical Education) added 10 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Kate Seebohm (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) tallied eight points, six assists and three steals.

The Vulcans took a commanding 15-1 lead after the Fighting Falcons missed eight-straight shots from the floor and committed seven turnovers before making their first field-goal with 11:37 left in first half. Fairmont State trimmed the deficit to 11 points before Cal U mounted an 11-5 run capped by a Seebohm jumper to take a 35-18 lead with 4:37 left before the break. Hines made a lay-up as time expired in the first half to give the Vulcans a 39-24 lead.

The Fighting Falcons opened the second half on a 16-8 run to cut the lead to 47-40 with 14:03 remaining. Cal U later responded with eight-straight points to reclaim a double-double lead, 60-45, on an Antonenko layup with 8:49 left in the game. The Vulcans then sealed the victory with a 16-5 run over a five-minute span to stretch the lead to 82-56 with less than one minute remaining.

Cal U finished the game shooting 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from the floor, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17 from beyond the arc. In comparison, Fairmont State was limited to 27 percent shooting in the first half and finished the game shooting at a 38.6 clip (17-of-44). The Vulcans out-rebounded the Fighting Falcons by a 45-27 margin and scored 23 second-chance points on Tuesday.

Sophomore forward Hailey Garrett led four Fairmont State players in double-digits with 16 points after making 10-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line. Senior guard Kaitlin Snyder, the reigning WVIAC Player of the Year, was limited to 10 points and added six points and three assists in the loss.

Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 17, when it hosts Glenville State at the Convocation Center, starting at 2 p.m.