CALIFORNIA (Dec. 19) – The No. 13 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team extended its winning streak to 10 games with an 84-57 victory against East Stroudsburg on Wednesday evening at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 10-0 this season behind a 4-0 mark in league play. Cal U enters the holiday break with an unbeaten record for the second time in three years. Meanwhile, the Warriors fall to 5-6 overall with a 2-3 record in conference action.
Redshirt senior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led all players with 28 points after shooting 11-of-20 from the floor and six-of-six from the free-throw line. She also added eight rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes of action on Wednesday. Barrett climbed the school's career scoring list for the second-straight day, as she eclipsed Traci Cox (1990-94) for eighth in school history with 1,543 points. The Central Valley product is now averaging a league-best 26.1 points per game after tallying at least 28 points in seven of 10 games this year.
Junior
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) posted 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing 25 minutes. Senior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) tallied 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the victory. Freshman
Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) added a season-high 10 points, plus three rebounds and four assists, in 15 minutes off the bench.
ESU held a slim lead midway through the first quarter before Cal U scored seven-straight points to take a 12-7 lead on a layup by Barrett at the 4:01-mark. The Warriors cut the deficit to one point with 2:25 left in the first quarter before the Vulcans scored 13-unanswered points to take a 27-13 lead with 7:29 remaining before halftime. ESU snapped a five-plus minute scoreless drought with a basket at the 6:54-mark, which sparked an 8-0 run to make the score 27-21 with 4:30 left in the second quarter. The Vulcans then made back-to-back three-pointers before a jumper by Vallecorsa capped an 8-0 rally to stretch the lead to 35-21 with 2:03 remaining before the break. ESU scored the final four points of the quarter to trim the deficit to 35-25 at halftime.
Cal U opened the third quarter on a 16-4 run after making 7-of-10 shots from the floor to build a 51-29 lead at the 4:32-mark. The Vulcans held a 60-38 lead at the end of the third quarter before playing the fourth quarter primarily with reserves. Cal U scored 10-straight points midway through the quarter to extend the lead to as many as 35 points, 77-42, on a jumper by Harrison with 5:19 left to play. The Warriors posted the last seven points to close the game with a score of 84-57.
The Vulcans shot over 60 percent in the second half to finish the game with a .500 field-goal percentage (31-of-62), including a 53.8 clip (7-of-13) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Warriors made 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor and went 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from long range. Both teams finished with 33 rebounds and Cal U forced 22 turnovers that were converted into 31 points.
Senior Noelle Powell led the Warriors with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. Junior Dominique Rayam added 12 points and six rebounds, while classmate Jordan Hertz posted six points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the losing effort.
Cal U is idle for two weeks before opening PSAC West play by traveling to face defending-league champion Edinboro on Jan. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
