CALIFORNIA - St. Vincent wasn't much of an opening test for California University's women basketballers in the first round of the Holiday Inn Invitational Friday. The Lady Vulcans started the campaign with an 80-46 romp. Third-year California coach Darcie Vincent doesn't look for a repeat today when her Lady Vulcans face Bentley (MA) College at 6 p.m. at Hamer Hall. "It's going to be a nerve wrecking game for me," said Vincent. "I think Bentley will be one of the top three teams we see." Bentley, which landed two first place votes and is 13th in the preseason Division II pool, downed Ashland University, 72-64, in the first contest of the tourney to up its record to 3-1. The big stories for California were the debuts of two new starters, 5-11 junior forward Becky Siembak and 5-4 freshman point guard Megan Storck. Siembak, who had to sit out last year after transferring from Slippery Rock, scored 15 points and dominated the boards with 11 rebounds. Storck made the first four shots of her college career in the opening half and closed with 10 points. "Becky just loves the game and you can't coach that," smiled Vincent. "She has fun out there giggling and you can see the enjoyment when she's on the floor. She just couldn't wait to play again." Storck, meanwhile, took the starting job away from senior Jenni Morrison. "It was not an easy decision," admitted Vincent. "She's a player and will be a great one. We knew she was going to be good and it's nice to see that so soon." While Siembak and Storck were getting off to good starts, sophomore Sara McKinney was picking up where she left off last year when she was the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year. McKinney took scoring honors with 19 points along with nine rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes. California led from start to finish, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the opening five minutes and pulling away to a 44-19 halftime lead. The Lady Vulcans shot 65 percent in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 19 of 29 from the floor. California also outrebounded the Lady Bearcats, 25-8, in the first half. Despite the margin, Vincent was impressed with the Bearcats. "St. Vincent is a dangerous team," she said. "They're more disciplined. The difference between us and them is that we're quicker, taller and faster." "We didn't execute well," she added. "I wasn't happy with our offense. If someone slows us down, I'd be a little bit nervous." Ten of California's 12 players were on the floor for at least 11 minutes. "Last year we were seven strong," she said. "This year we're 10 deep, which is a good feeling." High for St. Vincent was junior Kristen Lancas, the former Ringgold star. She scored 10 points, played a team-high 27 minutes and shared team honors with four rebounds. LEFTOVERS: California ended up shooting 54 percent (34 of 62) compared to 29 percent (18 of 61) for the Bearcats. Cal outrebounded the losers, 54-24 ... St. Vincent coach Kristen Zawacki was a finalist for the Cal job twice, getting beat out first by Tom Kendall and then Vincent ... The Bearcats' Cassandra Cutts scored four points to join the 1,000-point club. Cutts made only two of 10 shots and didn't reach her milestone until the final four minutes ... Cal freshman Lisa Gottuso needed four stitches to close a cut on her chin in the first half and had to wear a different uniform in the second half ... Sophomore forward Shevon Gibbons, a transfer from Norwich University, came off the bench to pour in 27 points in Bentley's win. Bentley led 65-64 with only 67 seconds remaining.

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