JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Feb. 10) – Behind a last-second steal from junior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward), the No. 20 Vulcans withstood a four-quarter rally on Saturday afternoon to claim a 56-54 victory at Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 20-4 overall with a 15-3 record in league play. The Vulcans remain 1.0-game behind division-leading Edinboro and 0.5-game behind IUP, which was idle on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats fall to 9-15 this season behind a 6-13 mark in conference action.
Senior
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored a game-high 22 points despite battling foul trouble throughout the fourth quarter. She added nine rebounds (three offensive) and four steals while playing 35 minutes. Parsons became the 23rd player in school history to eclipse 500 points in a season, as she also is the first player in the PSAC to accomplish the feat this year.
Junior
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) totaled 14 points, three rebounds and three steals while playing a season-high 37 minutes on Saturday. Sporio paced the team and tied her career high of 11 rebounds (six offensive) and also added six points, two assists and five steals.
The Vulcans seized control of the game early on Saturday by mounting a 16-2 rally to take a 20-7 lead with 1:15 left in the first quarter. UPJ shot just one-of-eight from the floor and committed six turnovers during the run that lasted over six minutes. The Mountain Cats countered with 10 unanswered points in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 22-19 at the 5:31-mark. Cal U snapped a span of five-plus minutes without a field goal as a jumper by Parsons with 5:06 left in the quarter sparked a 10-0 run to increase the lead to 32-19 with 3:11 left before halftime. The Vulcans eventually took a 34-21 lead at the break, as the Mountain Cats shot 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from the floor in the first half.
Cal U stretched the lead to as many as 18 points, 43-25, midway through the third quarter. Parsons was then whistled for three fouls in less than 90 seconds and the Mountain Cats took advantage by mounting a 15-4 run over six minutes to trim the deficit to 47-44 with 6:58 left to play. UPJ worked the deficit down to 51-50 at the 1:03-mark before Cal U stretched the lead back to 54-50 with 27 seconds remaining behind three free-throws. The Mountain Cats kept the score within one possession with a basket with six seconds left before Sporio collected the game-sealing steal right before the final buzzer.
The Vulcans shot over 47 percent in the first quarter before finishing with a .328 field-goal percentage (21-of-64). Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats made 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor and converted 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) from the free-throw line. UPJ held a 44-35 rebounding advantage and scored 19 second-chance points, while Cal U forced 23 turnovers and scored 23 points off turnovers.
Sophomore Gabrielle Smith led UPJ with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added three rebounds and two blocks. Senior Olivia McCabe, who is one of two players in the PSAC averaging a double-double this year, finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds (nine offensive) in the loss.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 14, when it hosts Mercyhurst in the Convocation Center at 5:30 p.m.
