Boxscore
CALIFORNIA, Pa. -- Junior wing player Chere' Marshall scored a team-high 16 points and junior guard
Julie Molloy added 14 points, but it wasn't enough as third-ranked California (Pa.) handed visiting Slippery Rock a 76-55 setback Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division women's basketball action.
The loss snapped a season-best three-game win streak for The Rock, who saw their season records fall to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in PSAC-West action.
Despite the loss, The Rock remained in sole possession of fourth place in the division standings as it has a one-game advantage over Clarion with one game remaining on the regular-season schedule.
A Rock win vs. 17th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) or a Clarion loss Saturday at Edinboro would send SRU back to the conference's postseason tournament for the first time in three seasons. The Rock would be denied a playoff berth if it loses to Indiana and Clarion beats Edinboro.
With its win Wednesday, California (23-3, 12-1) clinched at least a share of the PSAC-West regular-season title and the division's top seed in the conference tournament. The Vulcans will host either Slippery Rock or Clarion in a first-round game Tuesday.
Marshall (pictured above) and Molloy were the only Rock players to finish Wednesday's game with double-digit scoring totals, but senior post player
Sasha Sales had a solid nine-point, seven-rebound performance and senior guard
Amanda Nero chipped in eight points.
A three-point shot by Nero at the 18:15 mark of the first half knotted the score at 3-3 and accounted for the only time during the game that California did not hold the lead.
The Vulcans went on a 23-6 run in the next 11 minutes to take a 17-point, 26-9, lead with 7:30 left in the first half and never led by less than 15 points thereafter.
The hosts enjoyed a 42-15 advantage at the intermission and scored the first two points of the second half to hold their largest lead, a 29-point difference, 90 seconds into the final stanza.
The Rock finished the game with a 32.7% (18 of 55) efficiency on their shots from the field, hit 35% (7 of 20) of their shots from 3-point range and nailed 12 of 15 free throws.
California, meanwhile, hit 45.8% (33 of 72) of its action shots, nailed three of nine shots from beyond the arc and sank seven of 10 free throws.
The hosts held a commanding 52-27 advantage in rebounding and were on the lower end of 23-22 turnover comparison.
