CALIFORIA (Feb. 23) – Seniors Jiahna Flood-Francis (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Mifflin) and Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) combined for 35 points on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 18 Vulcans posted a 73-65 upset victory over No. 3 IUP on Senior Day in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team improves to 22-3 this season with a 16-3 record in league play. The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks were both featured in the initial NCAA Atlantic regional rankings this week and Cal U has now posted a 5-2 mark versus regionally-ranked teams. Meanwhile, IUP falls to 22-2 overall behind a 17-2 mark in league action – with both losses coming against Cal U.

Flood-Francis scored 17 points on six-of-nine from the floor behind three-of-five from beyond the arc. She also posted three rebounds, four assists and four steals after playing limited minutes in the fourth quarter due to foul trouble. Flood-Francis is averaging 10.8 points over the last six games after being held scoreless on Jan. 30.

Sporio led the team with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. She also tallied four rebounds and three assists while playing 33 minutes on Saturday. Sporio has scored in double-digits in each of the past five games and is averaging a career-high 9.1 points per game this season.

Junior Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) posted 10 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes off the bench. Senior Emily Suckling (Cheltenham, Australia/Mentone Girls' Secondary College) scored eight points while making her first start of the season. Redshirt senior Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) paced the team with nine rebounds (four offensive) and added seven points, two blocks and two steals while playing all 40 minutes.

IUP raced out to a 14-5 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter before Cal U closed the quarter on a 12-6 run to cut the deficit to 20-17. Early in the second quarter, the Crimson Hawks scored seven-straight points to stretch the lead to 27-19 at the 7:40-mark. Cal U then held IUP without a field goal for nearly a five-minute span, as the Vulcans mounted a 14-2 run to claim a 33-29 lead with 3:30 left before halftime. Cal U later made a pair of three-pointers in a span of 67 seconds before taking a 41-31 lead at the break.

The Vulcans started the third quarter on a 7-2 run to stretch the lead to 48-35 on a jumper by Flood-Francis at the 7:37-mark. IUP eventually worked the deficit down to 56-49 after scoring the initial basket of the fourth quarter. The Crimson Hawks cut the lead down to five points before the Vulcans responded with three-pointers by junior DJ Hahn (Warren, Pa./Warren) and Suckling in just over 90 seconds to take a 65-57 lead with 2:56 left to play. Cal U later made all six free-throw attempts in the final 76 seconds to seal the victory.

Cal U finished the game shooting 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor, including 10-of-21 from beyond the arc (47.6 percent) – their second-most three-pointers of the season. IUP made nearly 70 percent from the field in the first quarter before finishing the game with a .509 field-goal percentage (27-of-53). The Vulcans held a 38-28 rebounding advantage and scored 21 second-chance points in the victory.

IUP junior Lexi Griggs scored a game-high 28 points on 13-of-14 from the floor and added five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Senior Lauren Wolosik finished with nine points and eight rebounds in the losing effort. Classmate Carolyn Appleby was limited to six points on one-of-eight shooting and committed five turnovers before fouling out in only 29 minutes.

The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 27, when they travel to face Seton Hill in nearby Greensburg, Pennsylvania, at 5:30 p.m.