CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Nov. 12) – In a meeting of NCAA Tournament teams from last year, the No. 7 California (PA) women's basketball team suffered an 80-73 loss to No. 15 Charleston (W.Va.) on Saturday afternoon at the Wehrle Innovation Center.
With the loss, the Vulcans move to 1-1 this season while playing at the MEC/PSAC Challenge. Cal and Charleston have met six times over the last four years, including in both the 2019 and 2021 NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles improve to 2-0 overall after repeating as MEC Champions last year.
Senior
Dejah Terrell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) led the team with 25 points on 11-of-25 from the floor. She also added three rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal on Saturday. In 32 games with the program, Terrell has scored at least 20 points 11 times.
Junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) set a career high with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including four-of-six from beyond the arc. She also tallied four rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals while playing all 40 minutes at Charleston. Senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) posted 12 points and five assists, while junior transfer
Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) finished with five points, six rebounds and three assists.
Midway through the first quarter, UC mounted an 11-4 run to take a 15-8 lead at the 5:34-mark. The Vulcans later scored seven-unanswered points to tie the score at 17-17 on a three-pointer by Herrington with 2:34 left in the first quarter. The teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, 21-21, before the Golden Eagles scored six of nine points to take a 27-24 lead with 8:34 left before halftime. Cal countered with an 8-3 run to take a 32-30 lead on a jumper by Smith at the 4:54-mark. UC then responded with six-straight points before taking a 36-34 lead at the break.
The Golden Eagles opened the third quarter with 14-unanswered points to take a 50-34 lead at the 4:21-mark. Cal responded with eight-straight points to trim the deficit to 50-42 on a pair of free-throws by Loyd with 2:53 left in the quarter. The Vulcans trailed 57-50 at the end of the quarter before the Golden Eagles stretched the lead to double-digits in the opening 90 seconds of the fourth quarter, 61-50. California responded with a 10-5 run over nearly four minutes to work the deficit to 66-60 on a three-pointer by Herrington with 4:43 left to play. UC later mounted a 9-4 rally over three minutes to build a 78-66 lead before Cal scored a pair of three-pointers in the final 20 seconds of the game.
Cal finished the game shooting 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the floor after going 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from long range. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot at a 52.2 clip (24-of-46) and converted 82.1 percent (23-of-28) from the free-throw line. UC held a 36-31 rebounding advantage, while Cal registered 21 turnovers in the contest.
UC graduate student Trinity Palacio scored a career-high 27 points on six-of-nine from the floor and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. Senior Markyia McCormick, a 2022 All-MEC First-Team selection, added 20 points and classmate Dakota Reeves registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Vulcans return to action on Friday, Nov. 18, when they host Bowie State at the Convocation Center in non-conference play with tip-off at 4 p.m.
