WILBERFORCE, Ohio (Nov. 21) – Led by a career-high 21 points from junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola), the No. 7 California (PA) women's basketball team claimed a 78-60 victory at Central State (Ohio) in non-conference action on Monday evening.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 3-1 this season after posting back-to-back victories by a combined 34 points. Meanwhile, the Marauders fall to 0-3 overall after appearing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament last year.
Herrington scored 21 points after going 7-of-20 from the floor, including a career-high five three-pointers. She also collected four rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes. Herrington is averaging a career-high 14.5 points per game this season behind a .393 three-point field-goal percentage (11-of-28).
Sophomore transfer
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds (eight offensive), plus finished with four steals, on Monday. Sophomore
Talia Gilliard (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds – both career highs – in a career-high 21 minutes off the bench. Senior transfer
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) finished with a second-straight double-double, as she tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds while also adding three assists and three steals. Senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) collected a season-high 10 assists while being limited to just two points after entering play averaging 20.3 points per game.
Midway in the first quarter, the Marauders scored five-straight points to take a 12-5 lead at the 4:52-mark. Cal then posted an 8-2 run to trim the deficit to 14-13 on a jumper by Harris with 2:09 left in the quarter. Central State scored four-unanswered points and later held an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Marauders opened the second quarter on an 11-3 rally to extend their lead to 11 points, 29-18, with 6:12 left before the break. The Vulcans responded with a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 33-32 on a three-point play by Harris at the 1:06-mark. Central State scored a basket in the closing seconds of the first half to take a 35-32 lead.
Cal posted the opening eight points of the third quarter to take a 40-35 lead on a three-pointer by Herrington. The Marauders reclaimed the lead at 41-40 after scoring six-straight points before the Vulcans answered by scoring six of seven points to take a 46-42 lead with 3:12 left in the quarter. Cal later closed the quarter on a 9-2 run with seven points by Herrington to take a 56-47 lead. Midway in the fourth quarter, the Vulcans rallied off 12-consecutive points to take a 70-49 lead on a layup by Gilliard with 6:35 left to play. Cal eventually maintained the lead by at least 17 points for the remainder of the game.
The Vulcans made 50 percent in the second half to finish the game with a .385 field-goal percentage (30-of-78). Cal also converted 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Marauders shot at a 34.8 clip (24-of-69) after going just 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Vulcans held a 52-45 rebounding advantage and scored 23 fastbreak points in the victory.
Central State sophomore Abbigail Peterson led the team with 13 points on 6-of-19 from the field. Classmate Kailyn Nash registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds (four offensive) in the losing effort.
Cal is idle for a week before returning to action by hosting Alderson Broaddus on Nov. 28 at the Convocation Center, starting at 5:30 p.m.
