• Box Score
 
CALIFORNIA (Feb. 5) – Behind 25 points from junior Kaitlynn Fratz (Accident, Md./Northern Garrett), the California University of Pennsylvania women' basketball team defeated Mercyhurst 79-65 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
 
The win improves the Vulcans to 13-7 overall and 7-4 in the PSAC West this season. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 4-6 in conference play and 6-14 overall.
 
Cal U was led by Fratz who finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and added four assists, three steals and a blocked shot to her line. Junior Emma Mahady (Albury, Australia/Xavier) posted 14 points and classmate Irina Kukolj (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) added 11 points in the win.
 
Both teams shot over 60 percent from the field through the opening 12 minutes, notably Fratz, who hit seven of her first eight attempts to lead the Vulcans to 29-24 lead with 8:13 left in the opening half. Mercyhurst scored the game's next six points to take a 30-29 lead with 5:48 remaining in the first half, but the Vulcans out-scored the Lakers 10-7 to close out the half and take a 39-37 lead into the break.
 
Each team traded baskets through the opening five minutes of the second half before the Vulcans rallied for 12-unanswered points, capped off by a pair of traditional three-point plays by Fratz and junior Chelsea McKnight (Grove City, Ohio/Harvest Prep) to give Cal U a 57-48 lead with 12:52 remaining in the game. Mercyhurst halted the run and exchanged baskets with Cal U over the next five minutes, but the Vulcans went on an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 70-54 with 4:25 remaining in the contest. The Vulcans made 7-of-12 from the free-throw line in the final four minutes to close out the victory.

After trailing 48-46 with 15:27 remaining in the game, the Vulcans outscored Mercyhurst 33-17 over the remainder of the game and forced the Lakers into 14 turnovers and 29 percent shooting (5-of-17) from the field. Cal U shot 52 percent (28-of-54) from the field for the game compared to the 47 percent (25-of-53) posted by Mercyhurst.
 
Cal U was out-rebounded 39-22 by Mercyhurst, but the Vulcans only committed 13 turnovers and forced the Lakers into 27 turnovers. Cal U finished with a significant edge in bench points once again, out-scoring Mercyhurst 31-8 in the category.
 
Fratz scored 16 of her game-high 25 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. She was held scoreless for nearly 14 minutes after connecting on seven of her first nine shots.
 
Mercyhurst was led by a pair of 20-point scorers, Adrienne Kloecker and Alayna White, who finished with 22 and 20 points, respectively.
 
The Vulcans are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they head to PSAC West-leading Edinboro for tip at 6 p.m.