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CALIFORNIA, Pa. (Jan. 30) - Senior guard
Brooque Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) moved into second place in career scoring on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 20 Vulcans cruised to a 74-48 victory over Mercyhurst at Hamer Hall in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team improves to 15-4 overall and takes sole possession of second place in the league standings, breaking a tie with Mercyhurst. The Vulcans now are one-game behind No. 3 Gannon in the standings with a 5-1 mark in divisional play, while the Lakers hold a 4-2 league mark.
Williams scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-21 attempts from the floor and three-of-four from the free-throw line. She now ranks second in school history with 1,909 career points, surpassing the total of 1,892 points set by Cal U Hall of Fame inductee
Lara Thornton (1990-94). Williams also finished with seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists and four steals against Mercyhurst.
Junior forward
Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins), the leading rebounding in NCAA Division II, registered her 15th double-double of the season (fourth consecutive) with 11 points and 11 rebounds (five offensive). The guard trio of
Crystal Andrew (Johnstown, Pa./Johnstown/Pitt-Johnstown)
Kiara Brown (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) and
Stephanie Michael (Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown) each added with nine points. Andrews and Michael both finished with a team-high four assists.
In the opening four-plus minutes of the game, the Vulcans scored 10-straight points to take a 15-5 lead on a three-pointer by Michael. Leading 26-11, Cal U seized control of the game with a 19-4 rally over a span of 8:03 to take a 45-15 lead after Williams converted a traditional three-point play with 3:08 remaining before the break. The Vulcans eventually took a 49-19 lead into halftime after scoring 24 points off turnover in the opening half.
In the second half, Cal U built its lead to as many as 45 points, 72-27, with 10:17 remaining after mounting a 10-2 run. The Vulcans maintained their sizeable lead with the Lakers cutting the deficit only 26 points, 74-48, with 1:04 left in the game.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (30-of-80) from the field and made 90.0 percent (9-of-10) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Lakers made 45.9 percent of their shots from the floor and only 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the charity stripe.
Junior guard Samantha Loadman led Mercyhurst with 15 points and nine rebounds while classmate Amy Achesinski, the Lakers’ leading scorer and rebounder, finished with only three points and three rebounds.
For only the fourth time this season, Cal U was out-rebounded as Mercyhurst held a 40-35 advantage on the glass. However, the Vulcans posted a significant 32-14 edge in points in the paint highlighted by 16 fast-break points. Cal U also forced Mercyhurst into a season-high 37 turnovers on Saturday.
The Vulcans continue their homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when they conclude the opening round of PSAC West play by facing Slippery Rock. Tip-off at Hamer Hall is scheduled for 6 p.m. Last year, Cal U swept the season series with Slippery Rock and won the games by an average of 19 points.