CALIFORNIA, Pa.- Kyra Jefferson (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) led West Chester (3-6, 1-2 PSAC) in scoring with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting as one of three Golden Rams in double figures, but a first-quarter deficit was too much to overcome as the Golden Rams fell to Cal (7-1, 2-1 PSAC) by a final of 97-60.
In addition to Jefferson's 14 points,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) poured in 13 while freshman
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) continued her strong rookie season, ending with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field.
As a team, West Chester shot just 35.5 % from the field and 40.0 % from three-point range, led by a 2-of-3 shooting effort from beyond the arc from Johnson. Cal, meanwhile shot 55.9 % from the field and 39.3 % from beyond the arc while also shooting 71.4 % from the line in the victory.
In the opening five minutes of the first quarter, West Chester and Cal traded points throughout the early going and held a brief lead after
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) hit a three off an assist from
Kyra Jefferson (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) to put the Golden Rams in front 8-6. Cal outscored West Chester 7-3 over the next two minutes to take a 13-11 lead with 4:20 to play in the first quarter.
Over the course of the next four minutes of the first quarter, Cal outscored the Golden Rams 17-4 to take a 30-15 lead into the second quarter of play.
In the second period of action, West Chester outscored Cal 10-2 over the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter, to cut the deficit to seven points (32-25) in the early stages of the quarter. Over the final seven and a half minutes of the second period, the Vulcans outscored their guests 23-11, to take a 55-36 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, West Chester and Cal traded baskets through the early going but the Vulcans ended the quarter, outscoring West Chester 23-12 to carry a commanding 78-48 lead into the fourth and final quarter of play.
In the fourth, Cal opened the proceedings by scoring 12 of the first 16 points of the frame through the opening six minutes to claim a 90-52 lead with four minutes to play. Down the stretch, Cal stretched its lead to its largest margin of the game (39 points with 36 seconds remaining) en route to a 97-60 triumph over the Golden Rams.
Ciaira Loyd led the Vulcans in scoring with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field while Dejah Terrell led the team in rebounding with eight boards and 17 points to rank second on the squad in scoring.
Despite Terrell's eight rebounds, West Chester did manage to end the contest with a +8 (41-34) edge in rebounding, thanks in large part to a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Defensively, Cal managed to force West Chester into 21 turnovers (+12 turnover margin), which resulted in the Vulcans outscoring the Golden Rams 25-4 in points off turnovers.
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at Slippery Rock with that contest set to begin at 1 p.m. in its final PSAC contest of the 2021 half of the schedule.
