CALIFORNIA (Dec. 19) – Behind 22 second-half points from junior
Dejah Terrell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic), the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team continued Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play with a 59-46 win over Millersville at the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 8-1 this season with a 3-1 mark in conference action. Cal U ends the 2021 calendar year in fourth place in the PSAC West standings behind a trio of teams with a 4-1 record. Meanwhile, the Marauders fall to 1-8 overall and 0-5 in league play.
Terrell led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and six-of-eight from the charity stripe in the win on Sunday. After battling foul trouble in the first half, she recorded 22 points in the second half after going eight-of-nine from the floor. Terrell also tallied six rebounds and tied her season high with four blocks in 29 minutes of action.
Junior
Brionna Allen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) registered 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and four rebounds while playing 25 minutes. Fellow junior
Lauren Bennett (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) set a career high with nine rebounds and added two steals in her first start of the season, while classmate
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) recorded five assists and freshman
Juliana Burris added four assists and two steals in the victory.
The Vulcans scored the initial four points of the game before the Marauders mounted an 11-3 run to take an 11-7 lead at the 3:41-mark. Cal U responded with a 6-1 run to hold a 13-12 advantage with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Millersville scored four of the next six points to hold a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Marauders posted the initial basket to start the second quarter before the Vulcans extended their lead with a 6-3 run to hold a 21-20 advantage on a three-pointer by sophomore
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola). The teams traded the next 10 points before Cal U scored four of the next six points to hold a 30-27 lead at halftime.
Millersville opened the second half on a 6-4 run to cut the deficit to 34-33 with just over seven minutes remaining. After a Millersville turnover, Terrell posted six-consecutive points to extend the Vulcan lead to 40-33 at the 4:56-mark. The two teams traded the next eight points over a two-minute span before Cal U held a 47-40 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The Vulcans started the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run led by Terrell, who scored six-straight points, to extend the Cal U lead to 53-42. After a three-pointer by Millersville, the Vulcans scored six-consecutive points on jumpers by Terrell and Allen to give them a 59-45 lead with under 30 seconds remaining.
Cal U finished the game shooting 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) from the floor and 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Millersville finished the game shooting 38.6 percent (17-of-44) and 9-of-18 (50.0 percent) from the free-throw line. The Marauders held a 33-32 rebound advantage, while the Vulcans scored 22 points off 21 turnovers in the victory.
Millersville redshirt senior Lauren Lister led the team with 13 points on five-of-nine from the floor and collected four rebounds and four assists. Freshman Christa Ricks finished with nine points, while redshirt senior Ty Taylor and redshirt sophomore La'Shyra Williams each added five rebounds.
The Vulcans are idle for two weeks before hosting Kutztown in PSAC Crossover play at the Convocation Center on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.
