ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 11) – The California (PA) women's basketball team was unable to overcome its season-worst shooting percentage on Saturday evening while dropping a 57-46 contest at Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 15-10 overall behind an 11-8 record in conference action. Cal was swept in the regular-season series by Mercyhurst for the first time since the Lakers joined the PSAC in the 2008-09 campaign. Meanwhile, the Lakers improve to 13-11 this season with a 9-9 mark in league play.
Sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) registered her fourth double-double of the year, as she led the team with 17 points and 14 rebounds (eight offensive). She shot 8-of-19 from the floor and added one block and one steal in 35 minutes on Saturday. Harris is averaging 16.8 points over the last eight games while shooting 59.8 percent (61-of-102) from the floor.
Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) finished with eight points on 3-of-15 shooting, plus 15 rebounds (six offensive). She has collected at least 15 rebounds in a game five times this year and leads the PSAC with 10.5 rebounds per game. Classmate
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) posted 10 points on 5-of-14 from the floor, while junior
Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) totaled seven rebounds on Saturday.
Mercyhurst opened the game on a 7-2 run before Cal snapped a nearly four-minute scoreless drought with a jumper by Fink at the 4:36-mark. The Vulcans later cut the deficit to 10-8 at the end of the first quarter, as the teams combined to shoot just a combined 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) from the floor. The Lakers started the second quarter on a 9-2 rally to extend the lead to 19-10 with 5:23 left before the break. Mercyhurst later scored eight of 10 points to take a 27-16 lead before Cal closed the first half with five-unanswered points to trim the deficit to 27-21.
The Vulcans mounted a 10-2 run in the opening minutes of the third quarter to take their first lead of the game at 31-29 on a layup by Harris at the 6:25-mark. Cal later led 34-33 before Mercyhurst posted a 7-4 rally to end the quarter with the score tied at 38-38. Loyd scored the initial basket of the fourth quarter before the Vulcans went scoreless for over five minutes. During that span, the Lakers scored nine-consecutive points to take a 47-40 lead with 3:48 remaining. Cal snapped the scoreless drought with a jumper by Harris at the 3:32-mark before Mercyhurst countered with eight-unanswered points to claim a 55-42 lead with 53 seconds left to play.
Cal finished the game with a .260 field-goal percentage (19-of-73) while going just 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and went 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from long range. The Vulcans held a sizeable 55-39 rebounding advantage behind 23 offensive rebounds yet committed 18 turnovers in the loss.
Mercyhurst sophomore Danielle Grim led the team with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added five rebounds. Senior Jayde Boyd and sophomore Grace Centrulla both scored 11 points, while Boyd led the team with nine rebounds and Centrulla finished with five assists.
The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15, when they host Seton Hill at the Convocation Center, starting at 5:30 p.m.
