LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Jan. 12) – The No. 16 California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team used a 21-4 run in the second half on Saturday afternoon to capture a 65-49 win at Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 13-1 this season behind a 7-1 mark in league play. Cal U also finishes PSAC Crossover action with an unbeaten record for the third-straight year, winning all five league crossover games this season. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles have now lost six of their last seven games to fall to 8-7 overall with a 4-5 record in conference play.
Redshirt senior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led all players with 24 points behind 11-of-21 from the floor for her ninth 20th-point game of the season. She also tallied seven rebounds (three offensive) and two blocks in 37 minutes at Lock Haven. Barrett moved past Sandy Stodolsky (1986-90) for seventh place all-time in school history in scoring with 1,619 points on Saturday.
Senior
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) posted 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the victory. Junior
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) set a career high and led the team with nine rebounds (five offensive), matched her career high and paced the team with six assists and scored eight points against the Bald Eagles.
Both teams were held scoreless for nearly the opening two minutes of the contest until Barrett made a layup at the 8:13-mark. The Bald Eagles scored their first points on the next possession, but were held without their first field goal until 6:46 left in the quarter. Cal U closed the first quarter with a 14-9 lead before stretching the lead to 20-11 on a layup by Barrett with 7:43 left before halftime. Lock Haven then answered with five-consecutive points to cut the deficit to 20-16 at the 6:16-mark of the second quarter. The Bald Eagles later trimmed the deficit to 26-25 before the Vulcans made a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes to take a 32-27 lead at the break.
The Vulcans scored a pair of baskets in the opening minute of the third quarter to extend the lead to 36-27 at the 9:25-mark. Lock Haven followed with five-straight points before Cal U answered with 10-unanswered points over five minutes to take 46-32 lead with 3:04 left in the third quarter. The Vulcans scored just before the buzzer at the end of the quarter to spark a run of 11-consecutive points to stretch the lead to 57-36 with 5:55 remaining. Cal U maintained a lead of at least 16 points for the remainder of the contest to seal the victory.
Cal U finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (28-of-75) from the floor and attempted just four free-throws, its fewest total since January 2013. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles were held to a 31.5 clip (17-of-54) from the field and totaled 17 free-throw attempts. The Vulcans finished with a 49-38 rebounding advantage behind 19 offensive rebounds and scored 30 points inside the paint.
Junior Rileigh Devine scored a team-leading 12 points in the losing effort. Freshman Taylor Leidy tallied 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while sophomore Ahnera Parker finished with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks on Saturday.
The Vulcans return to divisional play on Wednesday, Jan. 16, when they travel to face Pitt-Johnstown at 5:30 p.m.
