MANSFIELD, Pa. (Nov. 20) – The No. 8 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team allowed just two points in the second quarter and 13 points in the first half on Sunday afternoon in a 73-37 win at Mansfield in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 5-0 overall with a 2-0 mark in league action. The 37 points are the fewest scored by a Cal U opponent since November 2010 (28 points; Molloy). Meanwhile, the Mountaineers fall to 1-2 this season with a 0-2 record in conference play.
Junior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led the team in scoring for the second-straight day and posted her third-consecutive 20-point game. She finished with 21 points after shooting 9-of-10 from the floor and three-of-five from the free-throw line. Barrett also collected nine rebounds (five offensive) and three steals in just 23 minutes.
Freshman
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) added 13 points off the bench on Sunday after making all five of her attempts from the field. Senior guard
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) posted 11 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four steals against the Mountaineers. Sophomore
Emily Suckling (Cheltenham, Australia/Mentone Girls' Secondary College) scored seven points off the bench, while classmate
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) tallied five points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Vulcans scored the opening eight points of the game and built a 12-2 lead on a pair of free-throws by Glenn with 3:35 left in the first quarter. Mansfield then countered with a 7-2 run over 90-plus seconds to cut the deficit to 14-9 with 2:04 remaining in the quarter. Barrett made a layup in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter to spark a 13-0 run by Cal U to stretch its lead to 29-11 with 1:59 left before halftime. The Mountaineers scored their only points of the second quarter on a pair of free-throws at the 1:05-mark before the Vulcans took a 34-13 lead at the break.
Cal U rallied off 10-unasnswered points, including eight by Barrett, just past the midway point of the third quarter to build a 49-19 lead with 2:54 left in the quarter. After a pair of free-throws from the Mountaineers, the Vulcans scored eight-straight points take a 57-21 lead on a layup from Suckling with 9:14 left to play. Cal U eventually stretched its lead to as many as 41 points, 66-25, on a three-pointer by Vallecorsa with 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor and converted 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Mountaineers shot at just a 22.5 clip (9-of-40) from the field after making only three field goals in the first half. Cal U held a sizeable 40-25 rebounding advantage, which led to 20 second-chance points and 44 points in the paint.
Junior Brielle Kelly led Mansfield with nine points, while classmate Alyssa Mullins finished with eight points, four rebounds and two steals.
Cal U returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 22, when it faces Ohio Dominican in its home opener at the Convocation Center with tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
