CALIFORNIA (Feb. 14) – The No. 21 Vulcans kept pace in the divisional standings on Wednesday evening with a 60-50 win over Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 21-4 this season with a 16-3 mark in league action. The Vulcans, which were slotted sixth in the initial NCAA regional rankings on Wednesday, remain 1.0-game back of IUP and Edinboro for first place in the PSAC West standings with three games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 9-16 overall behind a 7-12 record in conference play.
Senior
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led all players with 23 points and added five rebounds (three offensive), three assists and three steals in the victory. She has now scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games and has posted 14 20-point games this season. Parsons also moved past
Denise Hearn (1981-85) for No. 11 on the school's all-time scoring list on Wednesday with 1,367 points.
Sophomore
DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren) finished with 11 points against the Lakers, while junior
Mia Cushon (Raytown, Mo./Raytown South) tallied eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals while being limited to 20 points due to foul trouble. Classmate
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) added nine points, two rebounds and two steals in the win.
The Vulcans scored the opening six points of the contest before the Lakers countered with a 12-4 run to take a 12-10 lead with 3:28 left in the first quarter. Cal U then tallied six-straight points to reclaim the lead at 16-12 on a jumper by Hahn at the 9:27-mark of the second quarter. Mercyhurst snapped a nearly six-minute scoreless drought with a three-pointer with 8:18 remaining in the first half. The trey sparked a 14-7 rally by the Lakers which took a 26-23 lead with 44 seconds left before halftime. Hahn made a layup on the next possession to trim the deficit to 26-25 at the break.
Cal U posted the initial seven points of the third quarter to take a 32-26 lead before Mercyhurst countered with a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 34-33 at the 5:06-mark. The Vulcans responded with a 12-2 rally, including a combined 11 points from Hahn and Parsons, to take a 46-35 lead with 9:17 left in the fourth quarter. Cal U eventually stretched the lead to 13 points, 58-45, on a layup by Flood-Francis with 48 seconds remaining.
The Vulcans shot over 48 percent in the second half and finished the game with a .410 field-goal percentage (25-of-61). Meanwhile, the Lakers made 39.5 percent (17-of-43) from the floor and converted 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free-throw line. Mercyhurst held a 34-30 rebounding advantage yet Cal U collected 19 offensive rebounds. The Vulcans also forced 28 turnovers and scored 38 points off turnovers in the victory.
Junior Emilee Norris and senior Jamaya Shabazz tied for the team lead with 10 points and Norris recorded a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Freshman Rachel Chessar finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss.
Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 17, when it travels to face No. 11 IUP in a pivotal divisional and regional contest at 5:30 p.m.
