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Box Score
CALIFORNIA (Feb. 12) – The Vulcans rallied in the final eight minutes to grab a 62-56 win over Indiana (Pa.) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
The win improves the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team to 9-4 in PSAC West play and 15-7 overall this season. With the victory, the Vulcans clinched a berth in the PSC Tournament and have a two-game lead for the No. 3 seed in the upcoming league Tournament. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks fall to 15-7 overall and 6-6 league play.
Junior
Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett) tied for the game high with 20 points and classmate
Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) finished with 13 points, while fellow junior
Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) chipped in with 11 points in the win.
The Vulcans opened up a 21-11 lead over the first 11 minutes of the game behind a strong outside game in which Cal U connected on four of its opening five three-point attempts. Neither team found much success in the final nine minutes of the first half. The Vulcans took a 25-15 lead into the break, but went on a scoring drought of over six minutes while the Crimson Hawks failed to connect on a field goal in the final seven minutes of the half.
IUP cut into the Cal U lead with a 9-2 run over the first three minutes of the second half, but Kukolj responded to the run with a three-pointer to give the Vulcans a 30-24 lead with 15:45 remaining in the game. After Fratz split a pair of free-throws, the Crimson Hawks mounted a 19-7 run to take a 43-38 lead with 8:57 left in the contest. The Vulcans shot 1-of-11 from the field during the run compared to IUP, who converted nine of its 11 attempts.
Cal U rallied back with a 10-3 run, including a pair of basket-and-ones from freshman
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport), to take a 48-46 lead with 5:47 left in the game. IUP evened up the game twice over the next three minutes before the Vulcans took a 56-52 lead with 2:54 remaining in regulation. IUP brought the game back within two at 58-56 with 29 seconds remaining, but the Vulcans hit all four of their free-throw attempts in the final seconds to secure the victory.
The Crimson Hawks held a sizeable 47-29 advantage on the glass, but committed 21 turnovers. Cal U finished the game shooting 31 percent (18-of-58) compared to the 40 percent posted by IUP (22-of-55).
The Vulcans are back in action this Saturday, Feb. 15, when they travel to Clarion. The opening tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
