CALIFORNIA (Dec. 8) – The No. 17 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team forced 37 turnovers while cruising to a 77-36 win against Cheyney in non-conference action at the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 8-0 this season with each win being by double-digits. Cal U posted its largest margin of victory since earning a 53-point win, also against Cheyney, on Dec. 3, 2016. Meanwhile, the Wolves remain winless at 0-8 overall while no longer being a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Redshirt senior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds (four offensive) while playing a season-low 25 minutes. She made 6-of-12 attempts from the floor and five-of-eight from the free-throw line while also adding two steals. Barrett eclipsed Lisa Scott (1979-83) on Saturday for 11th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,485 points.
Senior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) tallied eight points, six rebounds (five offensive), six assists and seven steals in 20 minutes. Classmate
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) finished with seven points, three assists and five steals in 16 minutes. All 14 players scored in the victory with the bench accounting for 40 points and all 14 players totaled at least seven minutes in the contest.
The Vulcans held an 8-7 lead with just over three minutes left in the first quarter before Cal U scored eight-consecutive points to take a 16-7 lead on a jumper by Barrett at the 1:23-mark. Barrett made a jumper in the closing seconds of the quarter to give the Vulcans an 18-9 lead. Cal U tallied 13-unanswered points in just over two minutes early in the second quarter to take a 31-11 lead on a fastbreak layup by Barrett with 5:04 left before the break. The Wolves snapped a nearly six-minute scoreless drought at the 3:54-mark before the Vulcans closed the second quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 43-13 lead at halftime.
Cal U held a commanding 51-19 lead with 6:32 left in the third quarter before both teams were held scoreless for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The Vulcans snapped the drought with a jumper by freshman Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge), who finished with five rebounds, with 4:02 left in the quarter. Ca U scored six-straight points with baskets by three different freshmen in just over one minute to take a 61-24 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Vulcans played the fourth quarter exclusively with bench players and shot 7-of-13 from the floor. Cal U scored nine-straight points midway through the quarter to take a 70-28 lead on a layup by Ritz with 5:05 left to play. The Vulcans eventually stretched their lead to as many as 43 points, 77-34, with 54 seconds remaining.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 44.3 percent (31-of-70) from the floor and converted 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Wolves shot at a 34.1 clip (14-of-41) from the field and failed to convert a three-pointer. Cal U held a 38-29 rebounding advantage behind 19 offensive rebounds and also forced a staggering 37 turnovers. The Vulcans finished the game with 18 second-chance points, 40 points off turnovers and 24 fastbreak points.
Senior Marlon Herring recorded a double-double with game highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Gianni Hill and senior Drazana Vulic both tallied eight points in the contest.
Cal U is idle for over a week before returning to PSAC Crossover play by hosting Bloomsburg on Dec. 18 at 1 p.m.
