• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (Jan. 8) – Junior forward Amy Johns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) scored a career-high 31 points and added 12 rebounds to lead the Vulcans to a 65-51 win over Kutztown at Hamer Hall on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 8-3 on the season and matches its season-high win streak of three games, while the Golden Bears drop to 7-4 this year.

Johns scored 20 of her game-high 31 points in the first half after making eight of her first 14 shot attempts. She finished the game shooting 12-of-24 from the field and seven-of-nine from the free-throw line, while registering her second double-double of the season with 12 rebounds (seven offensive). After averaging 9.0 points last year as a redshirt sophomore, Johns ranks among the league leaders this season with 16.6 points per game.

Senior forward Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins), who was named the PSAC West Player of the Week on Wednesday, added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds (eight offensive) against the Golden Bears. She also recorded three assists, three blocks and two steals in the victory. Sophomore guard Stephanie Michael (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) added nine points on three treys off the bench.

Cal U led for virtually the entire the first half, leading by as many as 12 points, 28-16, after Johns scored eight-straight points. The Golden Bears scored the final basket of the half before the Vulcans took a 28-16 lead at the break with Johns and Smith combining for 26 of the team's 28 points.

After the Vulcans scored the first three points of the second half, the Golden Bears mounted a 17-5 run to the cut the deficit to one point, 36-35, with 10:34 remaining. Cal U responded with a 13-4 rally over four-plus minutes to stretch its lead to 49-39 following a three-pointer by Michael at the 6:10-mark. Kutztown trimmed the deficit back to eight points, 54-46, before Cal U sealed the win with nine-straight points to take a 63-46 lead in the final minute.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 38.5 percent (13-of-47) from the field, while the Golden Bears were limited to only a .277 field-goal percentage (13-of-47). Both teams struggled from three-point territory, combing to shoot just 24.2 percent (8-for-33) after neither team hit a trey in the first half (0-for-17).

Behind 12 rebounds from both Johns and Smith, Cal U held a sizeable 47-33 advantage on the glass with 18 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second-chance points. The Vulcans also committed just 15 turnovers, their second-lowest total of the season, and tallied 13 assists with a team-high three from Smith and freshman guard Ryah Gadson (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport).

Senior Melissa McQuade paced Kutztown with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore Ashley Wood - the PSAC East Player of the Week - finished with nine points and three rebounds.

Cal U returns to action tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, Jan. 9, when it hosts East Stroudsburg at Hamer Hall for a 1 p.m. tip-off. Live stats of the game will be available by clicking here.