CALIFORNIA (Feb. 9) – The No. 17 Vulcans raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half on Saturday afternoon before suffering a 62-61 loss to Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center, snapping a 44-game winning streak at their home facility.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team drops to 18-3 overall behind a 12-3 mark in league action. The Vulcans suffered their first home loss at the Convocation Center since Jan. 9, 2016 and have lost back-to-back games in PSAC West play for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots improve to 15-6 this season with a 10-5 record in conference action.
Senior
Abbey Sporio (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) led the team with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds, two assists and five steals while playing all 40 minutes. She has scored in double-digits seven times this season while shooting a career-high 48.6 percent (72-of-148) from the floor.
Classmate
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) collected a game-high 12 rebounds (six offensive) and added four assists and three steals, but was limited to a season-low eight points – 15 points below her season average. Junior
Gina Vallecorsa (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) scored 10 points in the losing effort on three-of-nine from the floor and three-of-four from the free-throw line.
The Vulcans scored the opening nine points of the game before the Fighting Scots scored their initial points at the 7:25-mark. Cal U answered with another nine-consecutive points to stretch the lead to 18-2 with 4:08 left in the first quarter and later scored seven of the last nine points in the quarter to seize a sizeable 25-6 lead. The Fighting Scots mounted back with a furious 17-2 run over nearly five minutes to cut the deficit to 27-23 with 3:43 remaining before halftime. Cal U then scored seven-straight points to reclaim a double-digit lead at 34-23 before taking a 38-28 lead at the break.
Cal U extended the lead to 43-30 midway through the third quarter before Edinboro countered with a 7-2 run to work the deficit down to 45-37 at the 5:21-mark. The Vulcans then scored five-straight points before the Fighting Scots closed the quarter on a 9-4 rally to trail 54-46 at the end of the quarter. The teams traded points for the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter before Edinboro seized control of the game with a 12-0 run to take a 62-59 lead with 2:44 left to play. Barrett snapped a nearly seven-minute scoreless drought for the Vulcans with a layup with 33 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 62-61. The Vulcans were able to force a turnover on the next possession by the Fighting Scots and held possession for the last shot, which was unsuccessful.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 34.8 percent (23-of-66) from the floor after going just 3-of-17 in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots rallied from going 3-of-13 in the first quarter to finish with a .490 field-goal percentage (25-of-51). Edinboro held a 42-33 rebounding advantage despite Cal U collecting 14 offensive rebounds, while the Vulcans scored 20 points off turnovers.
Junior Michaela Barnes scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-18 from the floor and five-of-five from the free-throw line. Senior Ciara Rosten, the 2018 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in 26 minutes.
Cal U continues its homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 13, when it hosts Gannon at the Convocation Center with tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
