INSTITUTE, W.Va. (Nov. 25) – Redshirt senior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) tallied 22 first-half points before finishing with 32 points on Sunday afternoon, as the Vulcans claimed a 73-43 victory at West Virginia State in non-conference play.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 5-0 overall with four victories against Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponents. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets drop to 2-3 this season while playing their first home game in two weeks.
Barrett recorded her third 30-point game of the season after entering the year with two career 30-point games, both in the 2016-17 campaign. She went 12-of-21 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line while playing 35 minutes on Sunday. Barrett posted her first double-double of the season, as she also added 12 rebounds (six offensive) while collecting five steals and two blocks in the victory.
Senior
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals while in West Virginia. Sophomore
Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) set a career high with seven assists and added five rebounds and three steals in the win. Freshman
Brionna Allen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) tallied eight rebounds (five offensive) and four steals in 20 minutes off the bench.
Cal U held a 12-8 lead with 3:26 left in the first quarter before West Virginia State mounted a 9-0 run to take a 17-12 lead at the 1:10-mark. The Vulcans then made a pair of layups in less than 30 seconds before the Yellow Jackets took a 19-16 lead at the end of the quarter. West Virginia State made a pair of free-throws early in the second quarter before Cal U scored seven-unanswered points to take a 23-21 lead on a three-pointer by Jasper with 6:25 left. The Yellow Jackets snapped a nearly four-minute drought without a field goal on the next possession before the Vulcans rallied off 16-straight points, including 10 by Barrett, to take a 39-23 lead with 29 seconds remaining before the break. West Virginia State then made a three-pointer and Barrett countered with a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds to give Cal U a 41-26 lead at the break. In the second quarter, Barrett scored 16 points after making four-of-six from the floor and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
The Yellow Jackets scored the opening basket of the third quarter before the Vulcans responded with a 10-2 run to take a 51-30 lead at the 5:28-mark. West Virginia State made a layup on the ensuing possession before Barrett scored six-straight points to give Cal U a 57-32 lead with 2:47 left in the quarter. The Yellow Jackets managed to trim the deficit to 19 points, 61-42, with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Vulcans closed the game on a 12-1 run to earn a 73-43 victory.
Cal U finished the game shooting 37.1 percent (26-of-70) from the floor despite going 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, West Virginia State shot at a 28.6 clip (14-of-49) after being held to just two field goals in both the second and fourth quarters. The Vulcans held a sizeable 52-34 rebounding advantage behind 23 offensive rebounds and forced 35 turnovers.
Junior Jordan Miller led the team with 12 points in the losing effort, while sophomore Amari Grace added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior Denisha Bowman paced the team with seven rebounds and recorded three blocks on Sunday.
The Vulcans open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play on Saturday, Dec. 1, when they travel to face Millersville at 1 p.m.
