CALIFORNIA (Feb. 8) – Behind a career-high 34 points from junior forward
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp.,Pa./Central Valley), the No. 4 Vulcans posted an 86-66 win over Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Wednesday evening at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 22-1 overall behind a 16-1 mark in league play. The Vulcans now hold a two-game lead in the PSAC West standings following a loss by Edinboro to Seton Hill on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Gannon falls to 7-16 this season with a 7-10 record in conference action.
Barrett finished with 34 points after shooting 14-of-23 from the floor and six-of-six from the free-throw line. Her previous high was 27 points which she scored twice this season. Barrett, who is averaging 18.0 points per game, also collected a team-high seven rebounds (five offensive) and three steals despite not playing the fourth quarter due to foul trouble.
Sophomore
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) finished with 14 points after going 7-of-11 from the floor and added four rebounds, four assists and a team-high six steals. Senior
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) finished just short of a double-double, as she tallied 12 points and nine assists, plus four steals, while fellow senior
Precious Martin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) recorded 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Vulcans opened the game by racing out to a 10-0 lead at the 7:48-mark after making their initial five shots of the game and forcing a Gannon timeout. During that span, Cal U forced six Gannon turnovers and didn't allow a shot. A layup from Barrett out of the timeout started a 10-2 run that extended the lead to 20-2 with 5:34 left in the first quarter. Cal U finished the quarter with a three-pointer from Glenn with five seconds left to take a 31-13 lead. Gannon opened the second quarter on a 8-2 run before Cal U responded with six-straight points to take a 39-21 lead at the 5:31-mark. The Lady Knights responded with nine-unanswered points in just over two minutes to cut the deficit to 39-30 with 3:34 left before halftime. Cal U countered with a 6-2 run to extend the lead back to 13 points before Gannon scored the last four points of the half to make the score 45-36 at the break.
After a jumper from Sporio to start the second half, the Lady Knights scored five-straight points to cut the lead to six points at the 8:33-mark. Cal U then scored 15-consecutive points to take a 62-41 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter. The Vulcans went a perfect six-of-six from the field in the run. Barrett would then score 11 points as part of a 13-4 run that spanned 2:24 to extend the lead to 75-47 with 1:01 remaining in the quarter. Cal U ended up out-scoring Gannon by a 33-12 margin in the third quarter. With most of the starters out in the fourth quarter, the Vulcans extended their lead by as many as 30 points at the 8:21-mark. Gannon closed the game on a 11-2 run that cut the lead to the final score of 86-66.
Cal U finished the game shooting 42.2 percent (35-of-83) from the floor and a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Gannon shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the field after shooting 60 percent in the first half and made 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc. Cal U held a slight 37-36 rebounding advantage behind a season-high 24 offensive rebounds that led to 26 second-chance points. The Vulcans also forced 31 turnovers and held a 24-2 advantage in fast-break points in the victory.
Gannon junior Maggie Mitchell led the team with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including five-of-eight from beyond the arc, while sophomore Lauren Tewes tallied 12 points in the loss.
The Vulcans will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they will travel to face Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, with tipoff at 1 p.m.
