Cal, Barrett hold off Bloomsburg
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Cal U.’s Gina Vallecorsa makes a three-point field goal during Tuesday’s game against Bloomsburg.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Cal U.’s Bianca Jasper drives the ball around Bloomsburg’s Marissa Molnar during Tuesday’s game.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Cal U.’s Jiahana Flood-Francis (11) drives around Bloomsburg’s Marissa Molnar during Tuesday’s game.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
California University’s Seairra Barrett scores two against a Bloomsburg defender Tuesday. Barrett scored a game-high 30 points in Cal’s 80-74 victory. The Lady Vulcans are now 9-0.
CALIFORNIA – Seairra Barrett, the sensational redshirt senior forward for the California University women’s basketball team, did a lot of damage here Tuesday afternoon. The numbers on the statistics sheet were frightening – 30 points, five rebounds, three steals – but it was the Vulcans who found themselves in a scary situation late in their game against PSAC East Division leader Bloomsburg.
While Barrett was on the bench with four fouls, Cal was trying to protect a three-point lead with less than five minutes to play. The Vulcans entered the key stretch in the game with two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior who had rarely played before this season on the court together. It was a dicey situation to say the least, but what all those young players, with a lot of help from senior Abbey Sporio, did was demoralize Bloomsburg.
Cal grabbed four consecutive offensive rebounds – two by Sporio – on one trip down the floor, ran two minutes off the clock and eventually increased their lead when freshman Brionna Allen converted a three-point play with 2:44 remaining.
That sequence, along with a steal by Sporio and her end-to-end rush for a fast-break layup with 1:05 to play, were the pivotal sequences that sent California, ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division II, to an 80-74 victory at the Convocation Center.
The win keeps Cal undefeated at 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC’s West Division.
“We were talking before the game and I said what we needed was a close game. Some of our 15-point wins would have been 30-point wins if we had kept our starters in the game,” Cal head coach Jess Strom explained. “I’m happy that we played a close game against a good team and won.”
What Strom wanted to see was how some of her youngest players would respond in the waning moments of a close game. She liked what she saw.
Allen, a freshman from Bishop Canevin High School, scored seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore point guard Bianca Jasper scored 11 points and had five assists. Freshman reserve guard Lauren Bennett, though she did not score, played some sticky defense and had three assists.
“If we have to play without Seairra, this showed me who can step up and shoot the ball. Bri can do that,” Strom said. “We needed to find out who is not scared.
“Those freshmen are stepping up. We see it every day in practice. It has gotten to the point that I don’t consider them freshmen anymore.”
Bloomsburg (3-1, 7-4), which has played a difficult schedule, lost for the third time against a ranked and undefeated opponent. Third-year head coach Allison Tagliaferri said following a lengthy postgame talk with her team that the Huskies let a win get away. The four-offensive-rebound sequence for Cal and Sporio’s steal and basket were the difference.
“That was unacceptable,” she said firmly. “You’re not going to beat a team of Cal’s caliber when you give up four consecutive offensive rebounds. They had the ball for two straight minutes. After that first offensive rebound, you could see our confidence drop.”
Bloomsburg did may things right. The Huskies were able to break down Cal’s man-to-man defense by driving the ball into the lane almost at will and had success dumping the ball to Taylor Montana in the low post. Montana scored 16 points and was one of four Huskies in double digits. Bloomsburg shot 54 percent.
Bella Ricci led the Huskies with 17 points. Emma Saxton and Alyssa Mack had 13 each.
“Bloomsburg is a good team. They beat Edinboro,” Strom said. “But we missed rotating on defense, we were late with help, we didn’t front the post.”
Cal entered the game ranked second in Division II in turnovers forced per game (23.4), but Bloomsburg had only one in the first quarter and 16 in the game.
For everything Bloomsburg did well, Cal countered with another stellar performance by Barrett. She made 13 of 22 shots and gave Bloomsburg fits all day.
“Barrett is an outstanding player. Cal is well-coached, a great program and has been for years,” Tagliaferri said. “We’re getting there, but our confidence isn’t where it should be.”
Vallecorsa scored 13 points for Cal, which shot 50 percent.
Men’s game
California 102, Bloomsburg 70: Brent Pegram led five California players in double figures with 31 points, and the Vulcans scored 55 first-half points en route to a 102-70 thumping of Bloomsburg in a PSAC men’s game.
Cal (1-2, 3-6) entered the game 16th in the 17-team conference in scoring at 66.5 per game, but shot 59 percent against Bloomsburg (1-3, 3-5) and forged a 55-33 halftime lead. The Vulcans were 13-for-22 from three-point range.
Donte Williams scored 19 points for the Vulcans, Jermaine Hall Jr. had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Zyan Collins scored 14 and Collin MacAdams had 10.
Bloomsburg, which was 3-for-25 from three-point range, was led by Ethan Houston’s 17 points.