ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 7) – Senior
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and sophomore
DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren) combined for nearly 40 points on Wednesday evening, as the No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team earned a 62-50 win at Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 19-4 this season behind a 14-3 mark in league action. Cal U remains 1.0-game behind Edinboro for first place in the divisional standings and IUP sits 0.5-game ahead after postponing its contest on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights fall to 13-10 overall with a 10-7 record in conference play.
Parsons scored a game-high 21 points after shooting 10-of-19 from the floor while playing 39 minutes. She also added seven rebounds (five offensive), three assists, two blocks and two steals on Wednesday. Parsons, who is averaging 21.0 points per game this season, has now scored at least 20 points in 12 games this season.
Hahn finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals in the victory. Sophomore
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) added nine points, five assists and three steals while playing 16 minutes off the bench, while freshman
Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) tallied five rebounds and four assists against the Lady Knights.
Cal U scored the opening nine points of the contest before Gannon converted consecutive baskets. The Vulcans answered with a 13-5 run over nearly eight minutes to stretch the lead to 22-10 on a layup by junior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) with 8:51 left in the second quarter. Cal U eventually stretched its first-half lead to as many as 16 points, 32-16, at the 2:39-mark before Gannon cut the deficit to 32-21 at halftime.
The Lady Knights made the opening basket of the third quarter before the Vulcans posted a 9-3 run, including seven points by Parsons, to take a 41-26 lead with 5:11 left in the quarter. Cal U later mounted a 12-3 rally to take its largest lead of the game, 53-33, on a pair of free-throw by Vallecorsa with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lady Knights countered with a 17-7 run to work the deficit down to 60-50 at the 1:09-mark before Hahn made the last basket of the contest, 62-50.
Cal U finished the game shooting 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor. Meanwhile, Gannon made 40.0 percent (18-of-44) from the field after going 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lady Knights finished with a 30-28 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 38 points in the paint. Cal U also forced 25 turnovers in the victory that were converted into 32 points.
Gannon junior Nicole LaCava scored a team-high 13 points on six-of-nine shooting and added five rebounds. Senior Maggie Mitchell finished with 12 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the loss, while junior Lauren Tewes added seven points and eight rebounds.
The Vulcans close out their road trip on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they travel to face Pitt-Johnstown at 1 p.m.
