CALIFORNIA (Nov. 19) – The No. 10 Vulcans scored 17-unanswered points in the second quarter on Sunday afternoon while earning a 71-49 win over Mansfield in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 4-0 this season with a 2-0 mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers fall to 3-2 overall with a 1-1 record in conference action.
Senior
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led all players with 24 points after shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. She also recorded nine rebounds (four offensive), four assists and three steals while playing 33 minutes. Parsons is averaging a career-high 26.0 points per game behind four-straight 20-point games this season while also shooting 54.8 percent (40-of-73) from the floor.
Junior
Mia Cushon (Raytown, Mo./Raytown South) finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added seven rebounds, three assists and five steals in 29 minutes. Redshirt sophomore
Natalia Casals (Granollers, Spain/Escola Municipal del Treball) added 12 points and five assists, while junior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) collected 10 points and three rebounds off the bench.
Cal U opened the game on a 10-4 run before Mansfield cut the deficit to 10-8 with 4:33 left in the first quarter. Both teams were held scoreless for over three minutes before the Vulcans stretched the lead to 15-8 on a layup by Parsons with 1:02 remaining in the quarter. The Mountaineers later made a three-pointer early in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 19-17 with 8:02 left before the break. Cal U then seized control of the game with 17-straight points over a five-minute span to take a sizeable 36-17 lead with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter. Casals and Parsons combined for 10 points during the run, as the Mountaineers missed six shots and committed seven turnovers. Mansfield eventually snapped the scoreless drought at the 1:29-mark before Cushon converted a three-point play in the closing seconds, as Cal U took a 39-21 lead at halftime.
The Mountaineers worked the deficit down to 41-25 after the Vulcans made just one basket in the opening two minutes of the third quarter. Cal U then countered with a 15-7 run to take a 56-32 lead on a layup by Cushon with 2:03 left in the quarter. The Mountaineers made a basket 30 seconds later before the Vulcans scored eight-straight points to close the quarter with a 64-34 lead. Cal U maintained a comfortable lead throughout the fourth quarter, as Mansfield worked the deficit down to 70-49 with 2:23 left to play.
Cal U finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor and made 16-of-24 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent). Meanwhile, Mansfield posted a .383 field-goal percentage and attempted 13 free-throws in the loss. The Vulcans out-rebounded the Mountaineers by a 36-30 margin behind 14 offensive rebounds and scored 27 points off turnovers.
Senior forward Alyssa Mullins led Mansfield with 13 points on four-of-six from the floor and five-of seven from the free-throw line. Classmate Brielle Kelly added 10 points and eight rebounds (four offensive) in the loss.
The Vulcans return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they host Goldey-Beacom (Del.) in the Convocation Center at 5:30 p.m.
