FAIRMONT, W.Va. (Dec. 12) – The California (PA) women's basketball team suffered a 76-67 loss at Fairmont State in non-conference action on Monday afternoon after being unable to withstand a late surge in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 4-4 this season with just a 1-4 mark in road games. Cal has suffered three-straight losses for only the second time in the last eight years. Meanwhile, the Fighting Falcons improve to 7-3 overall after earning their first win over the Vulcans since Nov. 12, 2013 (two games).
Sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) recorded her second double-double of the season on Monday. She scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and tied her career high of 12 rebounds (three offensive). Harris also added two blocks and two steals while playing 37 minutes at Fairmont State.
Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) posted 12 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and eight rebounds, while junior
Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) tallied 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) registered 11 points and three rebounds, while senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) finished with 11 points and seven assists despite committing 11 turnovers before fouling out.
Cal held a 63-62 lead with 4:28 left to play before Fairmont State closed the game with a 14-4 rally to capture the victory. The Vulcans cut the deficit to 68-65 on a jumper by Fink at the 2:41-mark and Harris later made a layup with 2:06 remaining to bring the deficit back to three points, 70-67. However, Fairmont State scored the final six points of the game, all in the last 39 seconds.
Midway in the first quarter, the Fighting Falcons mounted an 8-2 run to take an 11-7 lead at the 5:47-mark. Cal later responded with an 11-2 rally to reclaim the lead at 20-15 on a three-pointer by Harrington with 2:09 left in the quarter. The teams traded the final four baskets of the quarter with the Vulcans maintaining a 24-19 advantage. Early in the second quarter, Cal registered an 11-3 run while making five-of-six shots from the floor to take a 37-25 lead with 4:31 left before the break. The Fighting Falcons then closed the second quarter on a 9-2 rally to cut the deficit to 39-34 at halftime.
The Vulcans stretched the lead to double-digits at 46-36 on a three-pointer by Smith with 7:11 left in the third quarter. Fairmont State countered with an 11-2 rally behind a trio of three-pointers by junior Alyssa DeAngelo, the second-leading scorer in the MEC, to trim the deficit to 52-51 at the 2:36-mark. Cal held a 54-53 lead at the end of the quarter before DeAngelo converted another trey to start the fourth quarter and gave the Fighting Falcons the lead at 56-54. The teams then traded the lead with the Vulcans holding a 63-62 lead following a pair of free-throws by Herrington.
Cal recorded its best shooting performance of the season in the losing effort, making 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor and 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from long range. Meanwhile, Fairmont State shot at a 40.3 clip (25-of-62) and converted 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from three-point territory. The Vulcans held a 36-31 rebounding advantage yet committed a season-high 21 turnovers that the Fighting Falcons converted into 27 points.
An All-MEC First-Team selection last year, DeAngelo led all players with 27 points behind 5-of-14 from beyond the arc and eight-of-nine from three free-throw line. Senior Katy Darnell collected 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists and six steals, while graduate student Jertaya Hall added 16 points and five rebounds in the win.
The Vulcans return to action on Sunday, Dec. 18, when they host Bloomsburg in PSAC Crossover play at the Convocation Center, starting at 1 p.m.
