BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (Dec. 3) – Despite forcing over 30 turnovers, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season by a 59-58 margin in overtime at Bloomsburg on Friday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 4-1 this season with a 0-1 mark in conference play. Cal U previously won the last six meetings in the series with Bloomsburg, including three-straight at Nelson Field House. Meanwhile, the Huskies improves to 3-3 overall with a 1-0 record in league action.
Junior
Brionna Allen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) led all scorers with a season-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and seven-of-nine from the free-throw line. She tied her career high with eight rebounds (six offensive) and also added three steals and two assists. Allen is averaging 12.6 points per game this season, which nearly doubles her previous personal best.
Classmate
Dejah Terrell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) scored 15 points and collected seven rebounds (five offensive) while battling foul trouble throughout the second half, while fellow junior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) finished with 15 points. Junior
Lauren Bennett (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) registered seven rebounds, a team-leading five steals and four assists in 34 minutes off the bench, while classmate
Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) paced the team with 10 rebounds.
The Vulcans opened the contest on an 8-1 run before the Huskies countered with a 7-2 rally to cut the lead to 10-8 with 3:37 left in the first quarter. The teams went scoreless over the next three minutes before Cal U held a 13-10 lead at the end of the quarter. Bloomsburg started the second quarter by scoring 15-striaght points to claim a 25-13 lead at the 3:57-mark. After nearly an eight-minute scoreless drought, Cal U rattled off the final nine points of the quarter to trail 25-22 at the half.
The Vulcans opened the third quarter on a 6-3 run to tie the score at 28-28 on a jumper by Allen with 6:24 left. The teams traded the next four points before Cal U regained the lead and ended the quarter by scoring six of the next nine points to hold a 36-33 lead. Cal U forced back-to-back turnovers and extended its lead to 40-33 with 8:19 left in regulation and forced a timeout. The Huskies mounted a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 44-42 with less than five minutes left to play. After a free-throw by Allen, Bloomsburg scored six of the next nine points to take a 48-47 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Allen gave the Vulcans the lead with a jumper before the Huskies hit a three-pointer to take a 51-49 advantage with 30 seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing possesion, Loyd converted a pair of free-throws with eight seconds remaining to tie the score at 51-51 and force overtime.
In overtime, Bloomsburg scored four of five points to hold a 55-52 lead before Harrison converted a three-point play to tie the score at 55-55 with 2:27 remaining. After a three-pointer by Bloomsburg, Loyd cut the lead to 58-57 with a layup with just 40 seconds remaining. The Huskies converted one-of-two foul shots before Terrell was fouled with two-tenths of a second remaining, however, she converted just one-of-two foul shots as time expired.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting a season-low 27.1 percent (19-of-70) from the floor and converted 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. In comparison, Bloomsburg made 41.2 percent (21-51) from the field and went 6-of-12 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Huskies held a 44-39 rebound advantage and Cal U scored 32 points off 33 turnovers.
Bloomsburg graduate student Meghan Corridoni led the team with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds. Freshman Lauren Kirsch scored 14 points off the bench after making four-of-five three-pointers, while graduate student Emma Saxton totaled 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Cal U continues PSAC Crossover play tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 4, as it travels to East Stroudsburg with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
