JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Jan. 16) – The No. 15 Vulcans forced nearly 30 turnovers on Wednesday evening while earning 63-49 victory at Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 14-1 overall with an 8-1 record in league action. The Vulcans stretched their lead for second place in the PSAC West standings to two games by virtue of a loss by Edinboro on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats drop to 8-8 this season behind a 4-5 mark in conference play.
Redshirt senior
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) led the team with 18 points while going just 8-of-21 from the floor. She also led the team with six rebounds and six steals, plus added three assists, while playing all 40 minutes. Barrett sits second in the PSAC this season in scoring at 23.7 points per game and paces the league with 3.2 steals per game.
Senior
Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and posted four rebounds and three steals while being limited to 26 minutes to foul trouble. Junior
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) tallied nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while sophomore
Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) finished with five rebounds, four assists and five steals on Wednesday. Senior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) collected 12 points, three rebounds and four steals against the Mountain Cats.
Cal U scored the opening basket of the game before UPJ mounted a 9-2 run to take a 9-4 lead with 6:16 left in the first quarter. The Vulcans countered with seven-straight points and closed the quarter on an 11-2 rally to take a 15-11 lead at the end of the quarter. The Mountain Cats started the second quarter by scoring six of eight points to tie the score at 17-17 with 7:54 left before halftime. Midway through the second quarter, Cal U posted a 9-4 run behind six points by Barrett to take a 32-27 at the break.
The Mountain Cats registered an 8-2 rally early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 36-35 at the 5:59-mark. Cal U responded with six-consecutive points to take a 42-35 lead with 3:41 left in the third quarter before being held scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. The Mountain Cats snapped a six-minute drought without a field goal early in the fourth quarter and later trimmed the deficit to 42-40 with 8:13 left to play. Cal U responded with a 13-3 rally after making all six field goals over four minutes to take a 55-43 lead at the 4:01-mark in the fourth quarter. The Mountain Cats scored six-straight points to work the lead down to 55-49 before the Vulcans closed the game by tallying eight-unanswered points in the final 75 seconds.
Cal U finished the game making 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field after converting nearly 55 percent in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, UPJ shot at a 43.5 clip (20-of-46) from the floor despite going one-of-nine from long range. The Mountain Cats finished with a 38-34 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans forced 27 turnovers that were converted into 23 points.
Junior Gabrielle Smith led all players with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the losing effort. Classmate Nicole Olkosky recorded 13 rebounds (four offensive) and four blocks, while junior Alli McGrath, a transfer from UMBC, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they host Seton Hill at 1 p.m.
