CLARION, Pa. (Feb. 1) – The California (PA) women's basketball team raced out to nearly a 20-point lead in the first quarter before claiming a 61-55 victory at Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Wednesday evening.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 14-7 overall behind a 10-5 record in league action. Cal now sits in a two-way tie for second place in the divisional standings behind its current four-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles fall to 3-17 this season with a 3-12 mark in conference play.
Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) registered her league-leading 12th double-double in the victory. She paced the team with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 15 rebounds (five offensive), plus added three steals and one block, while playing all 40 minutes. Fink leads the PSAC and ranks among the top 15 in the country with 10.8 rebounds per game this season.
Junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) tallied 16 points behind three-of-eight from long range and four rebounds, while sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) finished with 10 points and five rebounds in the win. Senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) collected 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes on Wednesday.
The Vulcans raced out to a 10-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the game and later scored 12-consecutive points to build a 24-7 lead with 1:00 left in the first quarter. Herrington started the run with a three-pointer at the 5:08-mark and converted a trio of free-throws to cap the rally. Cal later took a 27-8 lead at the end of the quarter following a trey by Loyd at the buzzer. The Golden Eagles snapped a nearly six-minute drought without a field goal in the opening minute of the second quarter, as the teams traded the initial 14 points of the quarter with the Vulcans holding a 34-15 lead. Clarion then scored nine-unanswered points over two minutes to cut the deficit to 34-24 at the 4:14-mark. The Vulcans eventually took a 40-28 lead into the break behind a plus-12 rebounding advantage.
Cal scored the initial points of the third quarter and held Clarion scoreless for three minutes before the Golden Eagles worked the deficit to 42-33 with 4:46 left. The Vulcans then responded with five-straight points to stretch the lead to 47-33 on a pair of free-throws by Fink at the 2:11-mark. Both teams were held to just nine points in the third quarter with Cal maintaining a 49-37 lead. The Golden Eagles started the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to trim the deficit to 51-45 before the Vulcans countered with an 8-3 rally to reclaim a double-digit lead, 59-48, on a layup by Loyd at the 3:01-mark. Cal was then held scoreless for two-plus minutes and maintained a 59-52 lead before Herrington converted a pair of free-throws with 22 seconds left to seal the victory.
The Vulcans shot over 60 percent in the first quarter before finishing the game with a .423 field-goal percentage (22-of-52). Cal also converted 12-of-16 attempts (75.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot at 40.0 clip (20-of-50) behind 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point territory. The Vulcans finished with a 36-30 rebounding advantage and scored 26 points in the paint.
Clarion sophomore Sierra Bermudez scored a game-high 19 points behind five-of-seven from beyond the arc and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior Jada Smith tallied eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, while freshman Ava Haddad finished with 11 points on five-of-seven from the floor while battling foul trouble.
Cal continues its road trip on Saturday, Feb. 4, when it travels to face Edinboro in league play at 1 p.m. The Vulcans and Fighting Scots are tied for second in the PSAC West standings and sit two games back of the division leader.
