CALIFORNIA (Jan. 30) – Behind a combined 40 points from senior Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and junior Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin), the No. 10 Vulcans cruised to a 91-62 victory over Clarion on Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 18-1 overall with a 12-1 record in conference action. The Vulcans close the first round of divisional play tied with IUP for first place in the PSAC West standings. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles lost their 10th-consecutive game to fall to 7-13 this season behind a 1-12 mark in league play.

Sporio led all players with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting in just 21 minutes. She made her initial seven shots of the game and tied her career high with 18 points in the first half. Sporio also collected six steals in the victory to move into seventh place all-time in school history with 243 steals.

Vallecorsa finished with 18 points on 8-of-10 from the floor and three assists in only 25 minutes. Redshirt senior Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) tallied 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the victory.  Freshman Shauna Harrison (Sheffield, England/Myerscough) added seven points, four rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes off the bench, while sophomore Bianca Jasper (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) collected four rebounds, two assists and four steals on Wednesday.

The Vulcans raced out to a 15-3 lead at the 5:52-mark with Sporio and Vallecorsa accounting for all 15 points. The teams traded points for the remaining six minutes with Cal U taking a 25-12 lead after the opening quarter following a three-pointer by Vallecorsa in the closing seconds. The Vulcans mounted a 9-2 run in the opening portion of the second quarter to take a 34-17 lead with 6:14 left before the break. Clarion was later limited to just one field goal over the final three minutes of the quarter, as Cal U stretched the lead to 46-28 at halftime.

Cal U scored the opening 11 points of the third quarter to seize a 57-28 lead, as Clarion was held without a field goal for nearly four minutes. The Golden Eagles countered by scoring seven of the next nine points before the Vulcans countered with a 9-2 run over 90 seconds to take a 68-37 lead with 32 seconds left in the quarter. Clarion posted an 11-4 rally early in the fourth quarter before Cal U stretched the lead back to 30 points, 83-53, with 4:40 remaining. The Vulcans later made a pair of three-pointers in the last two minutes of the game to seal the 91-62 victory.

The Vulcans shot at least 50 percent in each quarter and finished the game with a .585 field-goal percentage (38-of-65). Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot at a .590 clip (23-of-39) in the contest. Cal U held a 24-22 rebounding advantage and scored 41 points off turnovers, including 26 fastbreak points.

Clarion senior Jordan Bekelja led the team with 17 points behind three-of-four from beyond the arc. Junior Kadijah Dickson added 13 points, five rebounds and six assists in the losing effort.

Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when it travels to face Slippery Rock with tipoff at 1 p.m.