Charleston, W. Va – In the last day of the MEC/PSAC Conference Challenge, the Golden Eagles took on the Vulcans of California (PA). The Vulcans came into this one off a close overtime win against West Liberty the day before and were looking to leave the Wehrle Innovation Center with two wins on their belt. 
 
The Basics
Location: Wehrle Arena
Score: UC 80, CAL U 73
Records: UC (2-0, 0-0 MEC), CAL U (1-1, 0-0 PSAC) 
 
How it Happened
Trinity Palacio would open up the scoring for this one with a quick layup underneath the basket for the early advantage. Charleston held the upper hand for majority of the opening period as points came from Dakota Reeves and Sierra Davis with their three-point shots. Anna Cardwell also joined in on the fun from beyond the arc and nailed a shot to cushion their lead. The greatest margin of the first period was seven points in the Golden Eagles favor after Palacio was able to put the soft touch off the backboard on anther layup for the 17-10 lead. Despite the margin, the score was knotted up at 21-21 at the end of the first quarter between the talented squads. This was due to the dominant play from Vulcan Hale Herrington, who had five points alongside two assists and a steal. 
 
The Vulcans would take their first lead of the game after Dejah Terrell drained a three pointer to take a 24-23 lead over Charleston. The Golden Eagles would answer with always reliable weapon, Markyia McCormick, as she put up four quick points to take back the lead 27-24 with 8:34 remaining in the half. California (PA) would rally back to take the 32-30 lead four minutes later as Jordan Smith was able to drain a mid-range jumper. Palacio would go on to score the last six points of the half for Charleston as they took a 36-34 lead into the locker room. 
 
Charleston came out of the locker room with a different energy, as they would go on to extend their lead to 16 points after the team lit up the three-point line and knocked down three from long range, putting the Golden Eagles up 50-37. The Vulcans managed to cut the deficit to seven before the horn, but Charleston would take a 57-50 lead going into the fourth quarter of action. 
 
Dakota Reeves would find herself in familiar territory knocking down a three pointer to score the opening bucket of the final quarter to put the lead back to 10. The Golden Eagles continued to light up the scoreboard with Palacio and McCormick as the two veterans combined for 16 of the team's 23 points in the fourth quarter. Despite triumphant efforts, the closest margin that the Vulcans were able to get the game to was five points, and the Golden Eagles would hold their ground as they took the 80-73 win to round out the weekend. 
 
Up Next
Charleston will hit the road for the first time this year as they will travel to Lincoln University on November 16^th with tipoff at 5:30 PM. The Lions are 0-1 on the year, but they will be a great out-of-conference test for the Golden Eagles early in the season.