Feb 6, 2022 5 min read

Behind three players scoring in double-figures, California University rallied at Mercyhurst to earn a 68-60 victory on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West action.

With the win, the Vulcans improve to 14-3 this season behind a 9-3 record in conference action. The Vulcans also extended their winning streak to five games, which is currently the longest in the league. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 7-13 overall with a 5-9 mark in league play.

Junior Dejah Terrell paced the Vulcans with 22 points while shooting 7-of-19 from the floor and eight-of-nine from the free-throw line. She also tallied eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks while playing 32 minutes. Terrell posted her fifth 20-point game of the year while raising her scoring average to 18.1 points per game.

Teammate Ciaira Loyd finished with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fellow junior Lauren Bennett tallied 10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and one block, while sophomore Halle Herrington registered eight points behind a pair of three-pointers off the bench.

Mercyhurst opened the contest by scoring the initial four points before the Vulcans posted a 7-2 run to hold a 7-6 lead. The Lakers countered with a 9-4 run to take a 15-11 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Mercyhurst went on to score five of the next nine points to hold a 20-15 advantage at the end of the quarter. The teams opened the second quarter by trading the initial eight points before Cal U scored four of the next seven to trail 27-23 with 3:16 remaining in the half. The two teams traded the next 10 points with Mercyhurst holding a 32-28 advantage at the break.

Chatham 63, Waynesburg 52: The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team hosted Chatham for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets battled back from a sizeable early deficit, but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 63-52 loss.

Chatham (13-5, 7-4) built a 20-9 lead after one quarter of play and saw that advantage grow to 37-17 after six minutes of action in the second. However, Waynesburg (4-15, 4-9) closed the first half on a 12-0 run that cut the deficit all the way down to just eight points (37-29) by halftime. Sophomore guard Marley Wolf, freshman forward Madisen Dayton, senior center Brooke Fuller and senior guard Kacey Kastroll all contributed to the surge.

A pair of Kastroll free throws stretched the run to 14-0 as the third quarter got underway and Waynesburg trailed by just six at 37-31. Unfortunately, Chatham not only broke out of its funk, but it tallied 13 of the next 17 points to build a 50-35 advantage.

Wash & Jeff 74, Thiel 33: The Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team racked up 42 points during the first half as the Red & Black never looked back en route to a 74-33 victory over Thiel in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.

W&J moves to 16-4 overall and 13-1 in PAC play. The loss drops Thiel to 4-12 overall and 2-8 in league play. The victory gave W&J a sweep of the regular season series. W&J won at home against Thiel by a 78-45 score on Jan. 24.

Freshman forward Meghan Dryburgh hit her second consecutive game in double-figures, recording 10 points and adding five rebounds. Kamryn Lach joined Dryburgh in double figures by adding 10 points.

Men’s results

Chatham 61, Waynesburg 49: The Waynesburg University men’s basketball team welcomed the number one team in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference to town on Saturday for a key league showdown. The Yellow Jackets led Chatham at the halftime break of a defensive struggle, but the visiting Cougars’ three-point prowess was too much for the host squad, as they pulled away in the second half to pick up a 61-49 win.

Waynesburg (12-8, 8-5) and Chatham (16-1, 11-1) entered the day as the number-two and number-one scoring defensive in the PAC, respectively. The first half reflected those numbers as the Jackets built a 26-23 halftime ed

The two teams were tied 9-9 after 5:08 of action, but an 11-3 Waynesburg run gave the host squad an eight-point lead at 20-12 with 8:35 remaining in the first half. Sophomore Jansen Knotts powered the surge with nine of those 11 points.

The Jacket lead grew to as many as 10 points when senior guard Matt Popeck dropped in a layup that made the score 26-16 with 5:44 showing on the clock. Chatham tallied the final seven points of the period to pull to within three points at the break.

Wash & Jef 81, Thiel 73: Four Presidents players scored in double figures as the Washington & Jefferson College men’s basketball team earned an 81-73 win over the host Thiel Tomcats in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game at Beeghly Gymnasium.

The win improves W&J to 16-4 overall and 11-2 in PAC play. The win matches a W&J single-season high for PAC victories. The Presidents earned 11 PAC wins in both 1962-63 and 1984-85.

The loss drops Thiel to 3-15 overall and 2-10 in the league. W&J used strong shooting to claim the victory, as the Red and Black converted 29-of-56 field goal attempts (51.8 percent) in the game. The Presidents shot better than 50 percent in each half.

Nick Gearhart and Kyran Mitchell finished with 16 points apiece in the victory. J.R. Mazza drained a trio of three-point field goals in a 14-point effort. Okikiola Agbale provided 12 points and a team-high six rebounds off the bench. Agbale was 8-of-12 at the free throw line in the contest.