CALIFORNIA (Dec. 16) – The No. 23 Vulcans opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play with a 62-47 win over Shippensburg on Tuesday evening at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 8-1 overall behind a 5-0 mark in league play. The Vulcans remain one of only two PSAC West teams to remain unbeaten in conference action. Meanwhile, the Raiders fall to 5-5 this season and 1-3 in league play.
Senior guard
Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) led all players with a season-high 22 points on 10-for-15 shooting, marking her fourth-straight game scoring in double figures. She also added three steals, one assist and one block in the victory. Classmate
Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) scored 12 points on 5-of-12 attempts, while collecting five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore guard
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) finished with 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting while recording eight steals, six assists and five rebounds.
The Vulcans and Raiders traded points for the opening five minutes of the game before Cal U went on a 10-3 run to take a 16-8 lead on a three-pointer by Fratz with 10:39 left in the first half. The Vulcans forced five Raiders turnovers, including four steals, during the run. Shippensburg cut the deficit to 21-16 with just over seven minutes to play before the break. After a jumper cut the lead to three points, Cal U responded with a 14-3 run over the final five minutes of the half to take a 37-23 halftime lead.
In the second half, junior
Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, England/Barking Abbey) extended the lead to 46-27 with 14:29 remaining. Shippensburg cut the deficit to 15 points after a pair of free-throws just over two minutes later. The Vulcans then responded with a 12-4 run over a six-minute stretch to extend their lead to a game-high 23 points, 60-37, with 6:04 remaining. Mahady scored six of the 12 Cal U points and senior
Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) scored four of her eight points during the run before the Vulcans earned the 62-47 win.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor, including 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Raiders shot at a 29.3 clip (17-of-58) from the field and 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from three-point range. Shippensburg held a 44-37 rebounding advantage, but committed a season-high 24 turnovers with 20 resulting in steals. Cal U finished with an 18-8 edge in points off turnovers and held a commanding 18-2 margin in fast-break points.
Cal U continues PSAC Crossover play tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 17, when it hosts Kutztown at 5:30 p.m.
