CALIFORNIA (Jan. 11) – Behind a pair of double-doubles and balanced scoring, the Vulcans earned a 69-59 victory over Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center on Wednesday evening.
With the win, the California (PA) women's basketball team extends its winning streak to six games to improve to 10-4 this season with a 6-2 mark in league play. The Vulcans have won three-straight games in the series with the Fighting Scots, all at the Convocation Center, after previously dropping seven-consecutive meetings. Meanwhile, Edinboro falls to 8-5 overall behind a 5-3 record in conference action.
Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) posted her league-leading eighth double-double of the year on Wednesday. She scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting and collected 16 rebounds (nine offensive) while playing all 40 minutes. Fink also collected three assists, three blocks and one steal in the victory.
Classmate
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) registered her second double-double of the season. She finished with 14 points and a season-high 11 assists, plus added seven rebounds and two steals, against the Fighting Scots. Freshman
Alicia Young (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) tallied season highs of 12 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, while sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) recorded 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals while battling foul trouble.
Early in the first quarter, the Vulcans mounted a 7-2 run with Harris accounting for all seven points to take a 9-5 lead at the 6:58-mark. Cal later closed the quarter on a 9-4 rally to extend its lead to 20-14. The Fighting Scots scored the opening two baskets in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 20-18 before the Vulcans rallied off 11-unanswered points midway through the quarter to take a 33-20 lead on a jumper by Fink with 5:46 left before the break. Cal eventually stretched its lead to 14 points, 38-24, at the 2:19-mark on a layup by Young before taking a 39-30 lead at halftime.
Cal scored a pair of baskets in the opening two minutes of the third quarter before being held scoreless for nearly five minutes. The Fighting Scots managed to trim the deficit to 43-36 during that span before a fastbreak three-pointer by junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola), who finished with nine points and six rebounds, with 3:39 left. Cal closed the third quarter with a 49-38 lead after the teams combined for only 18 points on 7-of-34 shooting. The Vulcans stretched their lead to 56-44 on a fastbreak layup by Young before the Fighting Scots mounted a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 58-54 with 4:52 remaining. Cal responded with an 8-2 rally to extend the lead back to double-digits, 66-56, at the 1:12-mark and later made three free-throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the floor and converted 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots shot at a 31.9 clip (23-of-72) from the field after going just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Cal held a sizeable 54-40 rebounding advantage and scored 36 points in the paint while committing a season-high 22 turnovers.
Edinboro sophomore Hayley Sims led all players with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting, while senior Bella Burrelli finished with 10 points and nine rebounds (five offensive) in 25 minutes off the bench. Junior Rana Elhusseini was limited to a season-low five points after entering play as the second-leading scorer in the PSAC this season at 19.8 points per game.
Cal returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 14, when it travels to face defending-PSAC Champion Gannon in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m. The Lady Knights and Vulcans enter the weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the divisional standings.
