CALIFORNIA (Jan. 24) – Playing their first home game in over a month, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team suffered a 61-54 loss to defending-league champion and No. 19 Gannon on Monday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 9-3 this season behind a 4-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights improve to 13-2 overall with an 8-2 mark in league action.
Junior
Dejah Terrell (Reading, Pa./ Berks Catholic) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, as she finished with 19 points and a season-high 19 rebounds (eight offensive). The 19 rebounds marked the most since Shatara Parsons also posted 19 rebounds during the 2015-16 campaign. Terrell tallied a season-high five steals and collected four blocks on Monday.
Fellow junior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) finished with 12 points on a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore
Jaydis Gales (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) tallied seven points in a career-high 23 minutes off the bench, while junior
Lauren Bennett (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) finished with six rebounds and three assists in the loss.
The Vulcans jumped out to an early 9-5 lead before the Lady Knights rallied with a 6-2 run to tie the score at 11-11 with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter. Cal U scored three of the next five points to hold a 14-13 advantage at the end of the quarter. Gannon opened the second quarter on a 5-1 run to take an 18-15 lead with 8:28 remaining in the first half. The two teams went almost four minutes without a basket before the Lady Knights mounted an 8-4 run to extend their lead to 26-19. The two teams traded the next six points, as Gannon held a 29-22 lead at the break.
The Lady Knights raced out to a 9-4 run to extend their lead to 38-26 to begin the second half before both teams went over three-plus minutes without a basket. After two free-throws from Gannon, the Vulcans scored five of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 41-32 on a halfcourt three-pointer from Loyd to end the third quarter. Cal U mounted a 9-2 rally to begin the fourth quarter, as it made four of its first six shots to trim the lead to 44-40 with 7:21 remaining. The Lady Knights responded by scoring six of the next 10 points with just four-plus minutes remaining to extend their lead to 50-44. The teams traded the next eight points before Gannon secured the win by converting seven-of-eight from the free-throw line to end the game.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting their second-lowest field goal percentage of the season at 28.4 percent (21-of-74) from the floor and just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the arc. In comparison, the Lady Knights made 35.4 percent (17-of-48) from the field and converted 24-of-28 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Cal U held a 44-42 rebound advantage and tallied 14 steals, while scoring 20 second-chance points.
Sophomore Sam Pirosko led three Lady Knights in double-figures, as she finished with 15 points after converting seven-of-nine from the free-throw line. Graduate student Emma Wright finished with 14 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, while junior Emily Poling finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Vulcans are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 26, when they host league-leading Seton Hill in PSAC West play at 5:30 p.m.
