SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (March 5) – Playing in the league championship for the third-straight year, the No. 5 Vulcans battled through multiple injuries and foul trouble before suffering an 84-79 loss to IUP on Sunday afternoon in the finals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team falls to 28-3 overall while playing in the PSAC Championship for the 15th time in program history. The Vulcans, which have been slotted No. 1 in all three editions of the Atlantic regional rankings, will likely receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament tonight with the No. 1 seeds being released via social media around 9 p.m. and the full 64-team field announced via webstream at 10 p.m.

Junior forward Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led all players with 31 points after going 10-of-15 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. She also collected nine rebounds (six offensive) and two steals while nearly playing all 40 minutes (fouled out in closing seconds). Barrett averaged 21.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 56.1 percent (23-of-41) from the floor over three games in the PSAC Tournament.

Sophomore Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four steals while playing all 40 minutes. Senior Precious Martin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) posted 13 points and nine rebounds, while junior Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) tallied 10 points and three blocks before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

The Vulcans were once again without seniors Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) and Lana Doran (Northamptonshire, England/Barking Abbey) due to injury. Glenn, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the PSAC Tournament the past two years, played only five minutes on Wednesday before sustaining an injury, while Doran missed all three games of the league tournament. Additionally, sophomore Morgan Jennings (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg), who played 22 minutes yesterday, suffered an injury with just under three minutes left before halftime and didn't return to the game.

IUP mounted a 13-4 run early in the contest to take a 15-6 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter. The Vulcans then countered with nine-unanswered points to tie the score at 15-15 on a jumper by Parsons at the 1:20-mark. The Crimson Hawks made a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and held an 18-15 lead at the end of the quarter. IUP opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to take a 21-15 lead before Cal U later scored six-straight points to tie the score at 23-23 on a jumper by Martin with 5:41 left in the before halftime. The Crimson Hawks then scored a second-chance three-pointer and held the lead until Martin scored a layup to give the Vulcans a 31-30 lead at the 1:40-mark. Barrett made a jumper on the final possession for Cal U in the half before Parsons blocked a three-pointer just before the buzzer, as the Vulcans held a 33-30 lead at the break.

The Crimson Hawks mounted a 16-2 run early in the third quarter to take a 51-40 lead at the 2:51-mark. Cal U committed six turnovers and attempted only three shots during the run before freshman DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren), who played a season-high 28 minutes, made a three-pointer with 2:38 left in the quarter. The Vulcans worked the deficit down to 52-49 on a layup by Martin before the Crimson Hawks converted a last-second, three-point play to take a 55-49 lead at the end of the quarter. Cal U scored the opening basket of the fourth quarter before IUP responded with a 14-4 run to take a 69-55 lead with 6:35 left to play. The Vulcans countered with a 13-2 rally to cut the deficit to 71-68 when Barrett converted a three-point play at the 2:57-mark. Cal U later tied the score at 73-73 with 1:15 remaining before IUP reclaimed the lead on a three-pointer in the corner with 47.4 seconds left, 76-73. The Vulcans were unable to make a field goal for the remainder of the game, but continued to trade free-throws with the Crimson Hawks before IUP sealed the 84-79 win with a pair of free-throws with two seconds left to play.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor and converted 82.1 (23-of-28) percent from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Crimson Hawks shot at a 56.6 clip (30-of-53) from the field and made 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the charity stripe. IUP also made 9-of-14 attempts from long range, which marked the most three-pointers allowed by Cal U since February 2015. The Crimson Hawks held a 29-26 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 29 points off turnovers.

IUP sophomore Carolyn Appleby scored 30 points in the title game behind six three-pointers and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the PSAC Tournament. Sophomore Brittany Robinson and junior Megan Smith both scored 17 points and combined for 10 rebounds while both battled foul trouble.

The Crimson Hawks, who lost both meetings against the Vulcans in the regular season, improve to 23-6 overall. IUP captured its first PSAC Championship since 2009 and earned an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament after sitting fourth in the latest regional rankings.