INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 18) – The No. 6 Vulcans scored 19-unanswered points in the first half on Wednesday evening while claiming a 79-52 victory over IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 17-1 this season behind an 11-1 mark in league play. The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks entered play in a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings. Meanwhile, IUP now stands at 12-4 overall with a 10-2 record in conference play.
Junior forward
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) matched her career high with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting while playing 37 minutes. She also collected five rebounds and two steals at IUP. Barrett has posted consecutive 20-point games and has now scored 20 points six times this season while averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game.
Senior
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) finished with 15 points, seven assists and nine steals against the Crimson Hawks. She became only the fifth player in school history with at least 1,800 career points (1,807) and also eclipsed 300 career steals (308) on Wednesday. Fellow senior
Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, England/Barking Abbey) collected 11 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals, while junior
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) registered 10 points and five rebounds in the win.
The teams traded points for the opening six minutes of the game, as the score was tied at 10-10 after they combined to go 9-of-14 from the floor. The Vulcans scored the final seven points of the first quarter to take a 17-10 lead before extending the streak to 19-consecutive points, as they built a 29-10 lead with 4:21 left before halftime. The scoreless drought for IUP lasted over 10 minutes with the Crimson Hawks committing 12 turnovers and missing all of their six field-goal attempts. Following an IUP basket, Cal U mounted a 9-2 run to stretch its lead to 38-14 with 1:29 remaining in the quarter before taking a 40-18 lead at the break.
The Vulcans started the third quarter on a 13-6 rally to take a 53-24 lead when Barrett converted a three-point play at the 5:29-mark. IUP countered with an 11-2 run to trim the deficit to 55-35 before Cal U held a 58-36 lead at the end of the quarter. The Crimson Hawks were unable to cut the deficit to less than 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Vulcans led by as many as 29 points before finishing with a 79-52 victory.
Cal U shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the floor with 20 assists on 30 field goals. In comparison, IUP made 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field while going 0-for-9 from three-point territory. The Crimson Hawks held a 40-35 rebounding advantage and scored 15 second-chance points. However, Cal U scored 33 points off turnovers after forcing IUP into a season-high 29 turnovers.
Sophomore Brittany Robinson was the only player in double-digits for the Crimson Hawks, finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds (five offensive). Classmate Carolyn Appleby added eight points on 4-of-11 shooting in the loss.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 21, when they host Mercyhurst, which is also tied for second in the PSAC West standings, at the Convocation Center with tipoff at 3 p.m.
