• Box Score

INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 27) – In a rematch of the last three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, the No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team withstood a second-half rally to post a 69-60 victory over rival IUP on Wednesday evening at Memorial Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Vulcans are now in a two-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings with Mercyhurst at 4-1 in league play. Cal U has won six of its last seven games to improve to 14-4 overall and ranks second in the initial NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. Meanwhile, IUP drops to 10-7 overall this year and 3-2 in divisional action.

Redshirt sophomore Amy Johns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport/Xavier) led all players with a season-high 19 points after scoring only a combined 22 points in the seven previous games. The McKeesport native made 9-of-15 attempts from the floor and finished with six rebounds (three offensive), three assists and four steals.

Senior guard Brooque Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) finished with 18 points against IUP and enters the weekend only five points shy of passing Lara Thornton (1990-94) for second place in career scoring. She also added six rebounds and three steals on Wednesday.

Junior forward Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) registered her third-straight double-double and 14th of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive). The 5-11 forward collected a team-high five assists and registered three blocks against the Crimson Hawks.

Cal U took a 38-24 lead into halftime and expanded its lead to as many as 18 points, 42-24, early in the second half after back-to-back baskets by Johns. IUP countered with a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 46-34 with 14:31 left in the game before Smith converted a tradition three-point play. However, the Crimson Hawks continued their momentum with a 13-2 rally over a six-plus minute span to trim the deficit to 51-47 with 7:35 remaining. During run, IUP nailed three treys and forced the Cal U into only 1-of-10 shooting.

The Vulcans would maintain their lead down the stretch, as Johns scored nine of her 19 points in the final 5:22 of the game. Cal U sealed the win by making six-of-eight free-throws in the final minute of the contest.

Cal U finished the game with its best shooting performance in two weeks, making 40.0 percent (26-of-65) of its shots from the field. The Vulcans also shot 70.0 percent (14-of-20) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Crimson Hawks shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) from the floor and 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the charity stripe.

Junior guard Lacey Claar led IUP with 13 points on three three-pointers, while both senior Hillary Shope and junior Eryn Withers added 10 points in the loss. Freshman forward Sarah Pastorek finished with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.

With Smith grabbing 13 rebounds, the Vulcans out-rebounded the Crimson Hawks by a 41-33 margin and scored 14 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds. Cal U also scored 19 points off turnovers after forcing IUP into 23 turnovers.

Cal U returns to Hamer Hall on Saturday, Jan. 30, when it hosts Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. Last year, the Vulcans swept the season series with Lakers after winning each game by nearly 30 points.