Dec 18, 2023 4 min read

By Bill Hughes

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

CALIFORNIA – It was a good Monday night at the PennWest California Convocation Center Monday night as the Vulcans swept a PSAC basketball doubleheader from Shippensburg.

In the opener, the 17th-ranked Cal women (3-0, 8-1) used stifling defense to gain a 22-2 advantage in the fourth quarter of its 67-45 win.

Head coach Jess Strom liked her team’s defense.

“We chose to play defense, and that is the only difference (in the game),” she said. “It is a choice. (Shippensburg) won the second and third quarters and we still won by 22 points.

“If we chose to do that more consistently, last game we were down 16 and chose to play defense,” Strom said of her team’s 72-68 win against Fairmont State. “The fourth quarter, we just turned our energy up a bit defensively.

“To give up two points in the fourth quarter of a close game is pretty good, and they were free throws.”

While Strom understandably focused on the fourth quarter, the Vulcans picked up the defensive pressure in the third quarter.

When Shippensburg’s Abbie Miller hit a jumper with 51 seconds to go in the third to tie the game at 43-43, it would be the last time the Raiders made a basket as they missed their 16 shots in the fourth quarter.

When Miller hit a layup with 5:10 to go in the third, it was the last time in the game that the Vulcans gave up points in the paint.

“When we decide, we have all the tools to be a really good team, and I forget sometimes we have only two returning starters,” Strom said. “We have a lot of new people playing together and I think I just want to get it quicker.

“We are the most athletic and deep we have been in a long time. They are good kids, and I don’t want them to be disappointed. Consistency is key.”

Dejah Terrell led Cal with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Alicia Young (14) and Nina Shaw (13) also scored in double digits while Allycia Harris grabbed 11 rebounds.

Treasure George led Shippensburg (0-3, 1-8) with a game-high 22 points.

Cal shot 41.7% (25 of 60) while Shippensburg shot 24.2% (15 of 62).

Cal, 100-71

The 13th-ranked and undefeated Cal men (3-0, 9-0) pulled away from Shippensburg (1-2, 4-4) midway through the first half and never looked back, 100-71.

“We played a well-rounded game and were very efficient,” said men’s coach Danny Sancomb. “We moved the ball around, and I love how we had 23 assists.”

Zyan Collins paced four Vulcans in double figures with 23 points while Jermaine Hall, Jr. added 20, Bryson Lucas had 16 and KJ McClurg scored 13.

“I thought Jermaine really got it going in the second half, Bryson being able to stay on the court in the second half was incredible, Zion was very solid the entire game and KJ was just who he is,” said Sancomb. “I am really happy with our defense, this was a really good team win and we have a quick turnaround to get ready for Lock Haven.”

Lucas grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds with Hall, Jr., Collins and McClurg each grabbed seven, with McClurg adding a game-high six assists.

The game was a homecoming for Shippensburg junior Michael Dunn.

A 2021 graduate of Trinity, Dunn finished with 13 points, including making three of six three-point attempts, before fouling out, and he spoke about having his family as well as his Trinity coaches and teammates in attendance.

“It is awesome,” he said. “My family comes to most of the games, and a lot are three or four hours away.

“Being 25 or 30 minutes from home is awesome. That means everything. That is where I am from, that is what built me, and it was my growth there. I give credit to my family, to my coaches, and my teammates.”