Aggressive effort has Cal feeling right at home
California University’s Precious Martin tries to get around the Ohio Dominican wall of defense during a game at the Convocation Center Tuesday night. The Vulcans remained undefeated by pulling away from the Panthers in the second half.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter California University's Shatara Parsons gets past Madi Rittinger during a game at the Convocation Center Tuesday night.
Cal’s Shatara Parsons puts it in for two over the defense of Ohio Dominican’s Madi Rittinger.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter California University' point guard Miki Glenn takes the ball down court as Ohio Dominican's Cassidy Wasson closely guards.
CALIFORNIA – Similar to many of the students at California University who are heading home for Thanksgiving break, the women’s basketball team was finally able to settle into its home – the confines of the Convocation Center – after spending the first five games of the regular season on the road.
It didn’t take long for the No. 5-ranked team in Division II to get accustomed to its own floor as an 11-point run in the early portion of the first quarter gave Cal a lead it would keep for the remainder of the game. The Vulcans combined that run with other stretches of nine and 15 consecutive points to defeat Ohio Dominican, 93-69, Tuesday night.
“It’s so weird to be here,” California head coach Jess Strom joked after the game. “We have a veteran team and we wanted to get them playoff ready with playing on the road and in back-to-back formats, but it’s definitely nice to be home.”
The Vulcans’ tenacious defensive effort – mainly in three of the four quarters – forced 31 turnovers and led to a 79-58 shot-attempt differential over Ohio Dominican. It is an advantage Strom admits is greatly needed.
“When you turn the other team over 31 times, I think you’re going to get more shots,” Strom said pleasantly looking at the stat sheet. “We aren’t very good shooters. We shouldn’t shoot three-pointers. A lot of our stat sheets look this way because that’s our focus. When we are in our half-court offense we aren’t that great.”
Scoring wasn’t an issue for California (6-0) as many of those turnovers led to easy fast-break opportunities. Four players reached double figures during Cal’s 34-point third quarter that stretched its lead to 77-53.
The win didn’t come easily against the eerily similar Panthers, whose lone loss of the season was a one-point overtime setback to No. 9-ranked Bellarmine.
Fatigue became an issue for the Vulcans in the second quarter, after two consecutive PSAC road games last weekend allowed for just one day of rest.
Ohio Dominican (3-2) was able to outscore California in the second quarter – the first time any team was able to do that this season – to reign the game into only a four-point deficit (41-37) heading into halftime after getting 11 points from Lauren Bates in the final six minutes.
“We were getting a little tired and taking outside shots without a whole lot of rebounding,” Strom said. “That’s a good team and they go quick in transition, which wears you down. We were taking too many quick shots. We had to just refocus on getting to the rim. I didn’t really have to say too much at halftime except for that second quarter wasn’t good enough. We had to play better defense and when you have leaders that buy in and agree, you see a difference in the second half.”
A difference also noticeable to Strom is the play of junior forward Seairra Barrett, who scored 20 points, grabbed three rebounds and collected three assists.
“I feel like I have to step up in order for us to progress and win games,” Barrett said. “I have to be a bigger factor on the court than I was last year. The grind is real. I’m in the gym working hard every day but I can see improvements. My jumper is better. I’m able to finish against hard contact.”
Leading the balanced California attack was senior point guard Miki Glenn’s 28-point performance. Glenn was also a big part to the success the Vulcans had from the free-throw line, connecting on 11 of 12 attempts. The aggressive attack from the Vulcans allowed them to reach the line 27 times, making 24.
“That’s how it should look,” Strom said about the team’s goal to reach the line 25 times each game. “It’s what we do.”
Lana Doran and Abbey Sporio also scored in double figures for California with 16 and 10 points respectively.
“Everybody knows what Miki can do on a night-to-night basis. Sierra Barrett is on a different level and the improvements she has made are remarkable. Any given day people can score on this team. How do opponents focus on one person?”