CALIFORNIA (Jan. 18) – The Vulcans were unable to overcome a slow start in the fourth quarter on Wednesday evening and dropped a 61-51 contest to Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the California (PA) women's basketball team drops to 10-6 this season with a 6-4 mark in league play. The Vulcans lost at home against the Lakers for just the second time since Mercyhurst joined the PSAC prior to the 2008-09 campaign (13-2). Meanwhile, Mercyhurst improves to 10-6 overall and 6-5 in conference action, which is tied for fourth place in the divisional standings.
Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) tallied her league-leading 10th double-double of the year. She scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting and added 10 rebounds (all defensive) and two steals while playing all 40 minutes. Fink currently leads the PSAC with 10.6 rebounds per game while also ranking 10th in the league in scoring at 15.4 points per game.
Classmate
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scanton) was the only other player to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points on just 5-of-19 from the floor. She also collected eight rebounds and four assists on Wednesday. Sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) posted nine points, five rebounds and three blocks against the Lakers.
Mercyhurst raced out to a 13-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game before a jumper by Fink at the 5:53-mark snapped an 11-0 run by the Lakers. Cal answered by closing the first quarter on a 10-2 rally to trim the deficit to 17-14. The Lakers held a 25-19 lead with 7:11 left in the second quarter before the Vulcans cut the deficit to 26-25 on a jumper by Harris at the 2:06-mark. Cal held Mercyhurst without a field goal for over five minutes in the quarter before going into the halftime trailing by a 28-27-margin.
The Lakers scored the initial basket of the third quarter before the Vulcans scored seven-straight points to take a 34-30 lead on a layup by Harris at the 7:09-mark. Mercyhurst responded by with an 8-2 run to reclaim the lead at 38-36 with 3:11 left in the quarter and Cal later trailed 41-40 at the end of the quarter. The Lakers stretched the lead back to double-digits at 53-42 with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter, as the Vulcans were scoreless for the opening five-plus minutes. Fink scored five-straight points to bring the score within two possessions at 53-47 before Mercyhurst made a pivotal three-pointer with 1:42 remaining and later converted five-of-eight from the charity stripe in the final 30-plus seconds.
Cal finished the game shooting at a 37.5 clip (21-of-56) from the floor while going only 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) from long range. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst made 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field and converted 12-of-16 (75.0 percent) from the free-throw line. The Vulcans held a 39-32 rebounding advantage but struggled with 19 turnovers that led to 16 points by the Lakers.
Sophomore Grace Centrulla and senior Jayde Boyd both scored 22 points in the victory for the Lakers. Centrulla shot 10-of-16 from the floor and added five rebounds, while Boyd made 7-of-15 attempts and collected three steals. Sophomore Danielle Grim finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals on Wednesday.
The Vulcans return to action with pair of road games in three days, starting at IUP on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m.
