CALIFORNIA (Feb. 6) – Led by a career-high 27 points from sophomore
Allycia Harris (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer L. Meyers), the California (PA) women's basketball team posted a 74-68 win over Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center on Monday evening.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 15-8 overall behind an 11-7 record in conference action. The Vulcans, which boast a 9-1 mark at home this year, sit 0.5-game back of second place in the divisional standings with five games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, The Rock falls to 12-11 this season with a 7-10 mark in league play.
Harris scored 27 points on 13-of-20 shooting after previously setting her career high with 23 points on Saturday. She also added nine rebounds (four offensive) while playing all 40 minutes against Slippery Rock. Harris boasts a .539 field-goal percentage this season after shooting a combined 43.8 clip at USC Aiken the previous two years.
Senior
Ciaira Loyd (Scranton, Pa./Scanton) tallied her fifth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 20 points on six-of-nine from the floor and seven-of-eight from the free-throw line. She also collected nine rebounds and seven assists in the victory. Classmate
Rajah Fink (Dover, Pa./Dover) tallied eight points, nine rebounds and four assists while playing the second half, while junior
Halle Herrington (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) posted 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
The Vulcans scored three-straight baskets early in the game before The Rock rallied off eight-unanswered points to hold a 10-6 lead at the 5:57-mark in the first quarter. Cal countered with an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead at 17-10 on a jumper by Loyd with 2:01 left. Slippery Rock snapped a four-minute scoring drought with a pair of three-pointers within 21 seconds to trim the deficit to 17-16. The Vulcans finished the first quarter with a 22-18 lead before The Rock scored six of eight points early in the second quarter to take a 27-26 lead at the 6:18-mark. Harris later registered back-to-back baskets to give Cal a 34-31 with 2:45 remaining before Slippery Rock scored the final four points of the first half to take a 35-34 lead at the break.
Midway through the third quarter, Slippery Rock mounted a 13-2 rally over nearly three minutes to take a 50-40 lead with 4:03 left. The Vulcans responded with a 10-2 run to close the quarter trailing by a 52-50 deficit. Harris and Herrington accounted for all 10 points during the run. Slippery Rock took its final lead of the game with 9:07 remaining before Fink scored six points over two minutes to give Cal a 58-55 lead with 7:05 left to play. The Rock cut the deficit to one point multiple times before Herrington converted a traditional three-point play at the 4:59-mark to give the Vulcans a 65-61 lead. Cal later held Slippery Rock scoreless for nearly three minutes while stretching its lead to 74-66 in the closing seconds behind five free-throws by Loyd.
The Vulcans shot over 55 percent in the second half to finish the game with a .484 field-goal percentage (31-of-64). Meanwhile, The Rock converted at a 37.1 clip (23-of-62) from the floor and was a perfect 12-of-12 (1.000 percent) from the free-throw line. Cal finished with a 37-35 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points in the paint, plus scored 19 points off turnovers.
Rock sophomore Isabellah Middleton set a career high with 27 points on 9-of-24 shooting and added eight rebounds and two steals. Senior Deleah Gibson collected 24 points behind six-of-nine from beyond the arc and a team-high nine rebounds, while no other Slippery Rock player totaled more than six points.
Cal continues its homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 8, when it hosts PSAC West-leading Gannon at the Convocation Center with tip set for 5:30 p.m.
