CALIFORNIA (Feb. 25) – Senior guard
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) scored a career-high 36 points on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans closed the regular season with an 88-84 overtime victory against IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Senior Day at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the California (PA) women's basketball team improves to 18-10 this season with a 14-8 record in league play. The Vulcans finish the year second in the divisional standings after entering play tied with IUP and secure a first-round bye in next week's PSAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks fall to 18-9 overall behind a 13-9 mark in conference action.
Loyd finished with 36 points on 12-of-25 shooting and 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. She became the first Cal player to eclipse 30 points in a game this season after scoring a combined 31 points in the second half and overtime. Loyd tallied the most points in a game since Seairra Barrett scored 41 points on Nov. 10, 2018 and tied for the sixth-most points in single-game school history. The Scranton native also collected three rebounds and six assists while playing all 45 minutes.
Sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers) registered her sixth double-double of the year despite fouling out with 90 seconds left in regulation. She finished with 15 points on 7-of-12 from the floor and 13 rebounds (seven offensive), two blocks and two steals on Saturday. Senior
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) also tallied a double-double in the victory, tallying 13 points and 15 rebounds (five offensive), plus three assists and two steals. Junior
Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) posted 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the win.
The Crimson Hawks held a 68-64 lead with 5:07 left in regulation before the Vulcans scored six-straight points to take a 70-68 lead at the 2:20-mark. IUP then made a free-throw with 1:27 left to play and controlled possession after collecting back-to-back offensive rebounds, however, the Crimson Hawks still trailed 70-69 when the Vulcans regained possession at the 1:23-mark. Cal then grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds with Fink making a free-throw with 25 seconds remaining. IUP missed a potential game-tying basket with 11 seconds left but retained possession on a team rebound. The Crimson Hawks then tied the game with seven seconds remaining before a last-second jumper by the Vulcans was unsuccessful, forcing the game to overtime.
Fink converted a traditional three-point play in the opening 15 seconds of overtime and Cal again led by three points, 76-73, with 3:07 left to play. The Crimson Hawks tied the score for the final time at the 2:58-mark before the Vulcans stretched the lead to 82-76 on a layup by Fink with 58 seconds remaining. IUP later cut the deficit to 86-84 with three seconds left before Loyd sealed the victory with a pair of free-throws.
The Crimson Hawks led by as many as eight points in the contest, including as late as 51-43 with 3:50 left in the third quarter. Cal then rallied off seven-straight points to trim the deficit to 51-50 on a layup by Loyd before IUP closed the quarter with a 57-52 lead. The Vulcans then opened the fourth quarter with eight-unanswered points to seize a 60-57 advantage before the Crimson Hawks countered with an 11-4 run over 90-plus seconds, 68-64.
Cal finished the game shooting 42.7 percent (32-of-75) from the floor despite going just 3-of-20 (15.0 percent) from long range. The Vulcans converted 21-of-27 attempts (77.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, IUP shot at a 49.2 clip (32-of-65) behind 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Cal held a 46-36 rebounding advantage behind 19 offensive rebounds, while also scoring 19 points off turnovers.
Sophomore Kiera Baughman led IUP with 27 points behind 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and added six rebounds and three assists. Senior Alana Cardona tallied a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Gina Adams finished with 14 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, March 1, when they host the winner of Edinboro-Seton Hill in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament with tipoff set for 6 p.m.
