SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (Jan. 6) – Senior
Monica Burns (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield) scored a game-high 25 points on Monday evening, as the No. 9 Vulcans earned a 68-59 victory at Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 11-2 this season with a 5-2 mark in conference action. Meanwhile, The Rock has lost eight of its last nine games to fall to 3-10 overall behind a 1-6 record in league play.
Burns finished with 25 points behind three-of-eight from beyond the arc and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. She posted her fifth 20-point game of the season after being held to a combined 34 points over the last four games. Burns leads the team in scoring this year with 15.5 points per game while converting 30 three-pointers and shooting 87.3 percent (62-of-71) from the charity stripe.
Sophomore
Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) added 14 points, seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists, one block and two steals in the victory. Junior
Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) paced the team with 10 rebounds and five assists, plus tallied eight points and two steals, on Monday. Senior
DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren) finished with five points and nine rebounds off the bench, while sophomore
Lauren Bennett (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) scored eight points at Slippery Rock.
The Vulcans scored the initial basket of the game before The Rock mounted a 10-5 run to take a 10-8 lead at the 3:04-mark. Cal U countered with a 9-1 run in just under two minutes to take a 17-11 lead on a three-pointer by Bennett with 1:09 left in the first quarter. The Vulcans then scored a pair of baskets in the final 41 seconds to take a 22-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Cal U posted a 7-2 run to take a 32-30 lead on a three-pointer by Burns at the 4:45-mark. The Rock countered with a 10-2 rally to the trim the deficit to 34-30 before Harrison made a layup at the buzzer to give the Vulcans a 38-32 lead at halftime.
Cal U started the third quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 45-34 lead on a three-pointer by Harrison with 6:51 left to play. The Rock answered by scoring eight of next 10 points before the Vulcans closed the quarter on an 8-3 rally to take a 55-45 lead. Slippery Rock worked the deficit down to 61-55 with 3:19 left to play before Cal U sealed the game by making five-of-six from the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting just 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the floor, but went 9-of-18 (50.0 percent) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, The Rock posted a .400 field-goal percentage (24-of-60) and went 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Slippery Rock finished with a 46-41 rebounding advantage and scored 34 points from in the paint, while Cal U committed just eight turnovers.
Senior Brooke Hinderliter led the team with both 17 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Junior Daeja Quick finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while senior Madison Johnson added nine points and six rebounds in the loss.
Cal U returns to PSAC Crossover play on Wednesday, Jan. 8, when it hosts Shepherd at the Convocation Center with tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
