CALIFORNIA (Dec. 17) – Sophomore
Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) scored a career-high 24 points on Tuesday evening, as the No. 9 Vulcans posted a 79-58 victory against West Virginia State in non-conference play at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 8-1 this season behind a 5-0 mark at home. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets fall to 3-7 overall while being held to a season low in points after entering play ranked third in NCAA Division II in scoring offense at 89.9 points per game.
Harrison recorded her second 20-point game of the season, as she finished with 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting. She also tallied nine rebounds (four offensive), three assists and four steals while playing 35 minutes. Harrison ranks second on the team in scoring this year at 12.7 points per game and leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game.
Junior
Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored 17 points on 8-of-13 from the floor in the victory on Tuesday. She also collected eight assists and five steals while playing 34 minutes against the Yellow Jackets. Senior
Citiana Negatu (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) set a career high with 15 points and added five rebounds, while classmate
DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren) established a career high and led the team with 13 rebounds (five offensive) in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Yellow Jackets started the game on a 5-2 run before the Vulcans responded with a 16-1 rally to take an 18-6 lead with 3:34 left in the first quarter. During the run, Cal U shot 7-of-12 from the floor and the trio of Harrison, Jasper and Negatu combined for 13 points. The Vulcans later closed the quarter on a 9-2 rally to extend the lead to 16 points, 27-11. West Virginia State scored seven-straight points early in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 29-18 with 6:44 left before halftime. Cal U later scored six-unanswered points to take a 35-18 lead before being held scoreless for the final four-plus minutes of the quarter. The Vulcans took a 35-25 advantage at the break despite scoring just eight points in the second quarter.
Cal U opened the third quarter on a 13-2 run with Jasper and Hahn combining for 11 points, as the Vulcans took a 48-27 lead at the 5:13-mark. The Vulcans later mounted a 12-5 run over nearly four minutes to take a 60-37 advantage with 8:35 left in the contest. West Virginia State made a pair of three-pointers midway through the fourth quarter before Cal U scored eight-unanswered points to take a 75-52 lead at the 2:42-mark.
The Vulcans made over 50 percent in both the first and fourth quarters before finishing the game with a .405 field-goal percentage (32-of-79). Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets shot at a 39.0 clip (23-of-59) from the floor. Cal U held a sizeable 53-33 rebounding advantage and scored 28 second-chance points, plus forced 25 turnovers in the victory.
West Virginia State sophomore Charity Shears led the team with 22 points on 8-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Classmate Chloe Cheresne registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.
Cal U returns to action with a pair of league crossover contests this weekend, beginning on Friday, Dec. 20, at West Chester with tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
