CALIFORNIA (Nov. 28) – Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) recorded a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 21 points on Monday evening, as the No. 18 Vulcans cruised to an 85-50 victory against Alderson Broaddus in non-conference play at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the California (PA) women's basketball team improves to 4-1 overall behind three-straight victories by at least 15 points. The Vulcans also played their third different opponent from the Mountain East Conference (MEC) this year. Meanwhile, the Battlers fall to 1-5 this season under first-year head coach Ta-Rel Franklin, who was appointed to the position in June.
Fink posted with her third-consecutive double-double, as she led all players with 21 points and 17 rebounds (10 offensive). She shot 9-of-14 from the floor and added a pair of assists while playing 29 minutes on Monday. Fink is averaging 19.3 points and 13.7 rebounds over the last three games while shooting 60.0 percent (21-of-35) from the field during that span.
Senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) finished with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and five steals in the victory. Junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) added 12 points and five rebounds, while classmate
Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five steals against the Battlers.
Alderson Broaddus opened the game on a 7-2 run before Cal scored seven-straight points to take a 9-7 lead on a jumper by Fink with 6:35 left in the first quarter. Following a jumper by the Battlers, the Vulcans rallied off 14-unanswered points to close the quarter with a 23-9 lead behind a combined 15 points by Fink and Loyd. Alderson Broaddus started the second quarter with six-consecutive points to trim the deficit to 23-15 at the 7:35-mark. Cal then mounted a 19-2 run with 14 points by Fink, Herrington and Smith over the remainder of the second quarter to take a 42-17 lead at the break.
Early in the third quarter, the Vulcans posted a 10-2 run to stretch the lead to 52-22 on a jumper by Fink with 7:01 left in the quarter. Cal later worked the lead to 63-28 on a layup by sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers), who finished the game with seven points and five rebounds, at the 2:46-mark behind an 11-4 rally. The Vulcans scored 28 points in the third quarter and held a 70-35 lead at the end of the quarter. Cal eventually stretched its lead to as many as 42 points, 83-41, with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter before Alderson Broaddus closed the game on a 9-2 run.
The Vulcans registered a season-best .429 field-goal percentage (33-of-77) in the victory and went 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Battlers were held to a .296 clip (16-of-54) from the floor and converted 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from the charity stripe. Cal held a sizeable 52-35 rebounding advantage behind 21 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points. The Vulcans scored a combined 44 points in the paint and forced 26 turnovers, including 19 in the first half.
Alderson Broaddus junior Hannah Taylor led the team with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, plus added eight rebounds and two steals. Junior Amil Mitchell finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Cassandra Smith posted 10 points and three rebounds in the losing effort.
Cal opens Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play this weekend with a two-game road trip, starting at Shippensburg on Friday, Dec. 2, at 5:30 p.m.
