KUTZTOWN, Pa. (March 5) – Behind a season-high 25 points from junior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton), the Vulcans advanced to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship with a 78-49 win over Shepherd in the semifinals of the league tournament on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 24-4 this season as they advance to the PSAC Championship for the first time since 2017. The Vulcans will face Gannon in the finals of the league tournament for the first time since 2010 tomorrow, Sunday, March 6, at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the Rams fall to 24-7 overall and await a possible at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Loyd paced the Vulcans with a season-high 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. She also collected seven assists in the win after entering play ranked fifth in the country in assists per game. An All-PSAC West First-Team selection, Loyd has tallied at least seven assists in 11 games this season.
Junior
Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) registered her fifth career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. She finished 5-of-12 from the field with a trio of three-pointers while playing 38 minutes. Classmate
Dejah Terrell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds, plus collected four blocks and three steals. Fellow junior
Lauren Bennett (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) finished with nine points, while freshman
Juliana Burris (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) added nine points off the bench.
The teams opened the contest by trading the initial 16 points before the Vulcans mounted a 5-2 run to lead 13-10 at the media timeout. Shepherd rallied by scoring six of the next seven points to hold a 16-14 lead before Cal U trailed 18-17 after the first quarter. After trading baskets to begin the second quarter, the teams went almost three minutes without a basket. The Vulcans forced three turnovers and scored 11-consecutive points led by Harrison and Loyd to lead 30-20 with 3:45 remaining in the half. The Rams rallied with a 6-2 run to trim the deficit before Cal U scored four of seven points to lead 36-29 at halftime.
The Vulcans opened the third quarter by scoring seven-straight points, including five by Loyd, to extend their lead to 43-29. Shepherd responded by scoring five of the next nine points to trim the lead to 47-34 with 4:52 remaining. After a jumper by Loyd, Bennett and Terrell led a 9-4 run as Cal U extended its lead to 57-38 at the end of the third quarter. The Vulcans opened the fourth quarter on a 7-4 rally before extending their lead to 71-46 with 4:43 remaining. Cal U scored the final seven of 10 points, all by Burris, to end the contest.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the floor, including 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc, and an impressive 20-of-23 (87.0 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Rams shot at a 35.2 clip (19-of-52) from the field and were only 3-of-12 (25.0 percent) from long range. Cal U held a 40-29 rebounding advantage, plus forced 20 turnovers.
Graduate student Sydney Clayton paced the Rams with 18 points, seven rebounds, four steals and one block. PSAC East Athlete of the Year Abby Beeman finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, while graduate student Marley McLaughlin recorded 14 points and three rebounds.
Cal U returns to action tomorrow when it faces Gannon in the PSAC Championship at 3 p.m. The winner of the contest will earn an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Vulcans will be making their 16th all-time appearance in the finals of the league tournament, including fourth since 2015.
