ELKINS, W.Va. (Feb.14) – The No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team extended its winning streak to seven games with a 72-67 victory at Davis & Elkins in non-conference play on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 21-3 overall this season with a 10-2 mark on the road. Cal U is tied with IUP for first place in the PSAC West standings with three league games remaining in the regular season; however, the Vulcans hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Crimson Hawks after winning both meetings this year. Meanwhile, D&E falls to 11-11 on the year.
The Vulcans were led by a season-high 17 points from junior
Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, England/Barking Abbey), who shot 8-of-15 from the field. She also added six rebounds, two assists and three steals in the victory. Sophomore
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va/Bridgeport) scored 14 points and matched her career high with nine assists, while seniors
Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) and
Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) each finished with 13 points and five assists. Mahady added eight rebounds and Fratz collected five rebounds.
The Senators opened the game on a 5-0 run in the first minute before the Vulcans took back the lead at 9-8 after a three-pointer from Mahady at the 16:24-mark. Cal U took its biggest lead of the half with 11:20 remaining when a layup by Mahady gave the Vulcans a 17-13 advantage. D&E then proceeded to go on an 8-2 run to take a 21-19 lead with at the 8:26-mark. The two teams would trade the lead six times before the Senators made two free-throws to take a 33-32 lead into halftime.
Cal U opened the second half by scoring the initial five points over four-plus minutes to take a 37-33 lead with 15:45 remaining in the game. The Senators then scored seven-straight points to take a 40-33 lead until a three-pointer by Mahady tied the game at 40-40 with 13:32 left to play. A three-pointer from Glenn gave Cal U a 54-51 lead with 5:29 remaining and the Vulcans maintained the lead for the remainder of the game. The Senators scored a layup to make the score 61-59 with just 2:55 left in the game before the Vulcans went on a 13-6 run to end the game after going seven-of-eight from the free-throw line in the final minutes.
The Vulcans shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from three-point territory. In comparison, the Senators shot a 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor and made 38.5 percent (5-13) from beyond the arc. D&E finished with a 41-38 rebounding advantage, while Cal U collected 24 assists on 27 field goals.
Senior Sharmaine Baker tallied a game-high 27 points after shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Stephanie Wooten registered a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 assists in the contest.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18, when it hosts Seton Hill at 5:30 p.m.
