Boxscore

IUP saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday with a 93-59 loss to California at Hamer Hall.

The Crimson Hawks dropped to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC West with their first loss since a 72-70 defeat to West Liberty on December 12. California improved to 11-4 and 2-1 in the division.

Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook) led IUP with 13 points followed by Lacey Claar (Imler, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel) with 11 and Katelyn Marshall (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) and Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) with 10 each. Pastorek paced the Crimson Hawks with eight rebounds, Withers made five steals and Marshall dished out five assists.

Nine of Withers' points came on three 3-pointers, and the senior is tied with Jess Conner for third place in IUP history with 127 career 3s.

Kayla Smith, the reigning PSAC West Player of the Week, hit 12 of 16 from the field and had game highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds for California. Danielle Luckett added 19 points and Amy Johns finished with 17 while Kate Seebohm had eight assists.

The 93 points are the most allowed by IUP in a regulation game since a 94-66 loss at California during the 2003-04 season. The 34-point margin is the largest since IUP lost to Southern Indiana 91-52 early in the 1996-97 campaign.

The Crimson Hawks also had a 10-game run of scoring at least 70 points come to an end, their longest since a 12-game streak covering the final 11 games of the 1991-92 season and the 1992-93 opener.

IUP led 16-14 on a basket by Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East) with 14:02 left in the first half, but the Vulcans then embarked on a 20-2 run over the next six minutes to build a 16-point advantage.

The Crimson Hawks never got the lead below double digits the rest of the way although they were able to pull within 50-40 on a jumper by Pastorek with less than two minutes gone in the second half. California scored the next 12 points, including 10 by Smith, to put the game away.

During its winning streak IUP had allowed an average of only 45.4 points per game, but the Vulcans exceeded that total in the first half when they made 22 of 36 shots (61.1 percent) and took a 48-36 lead into the locker room.

California shot 55.1 percent for the game, far beyond the 32 percent the Crimson Hawks had allowed during the streak, held a 44-28 advantage on the boards and committed only 16 turnovers to 23 for IUP.

IUP will look to get back to its winning ways Saturday when it hosts Clarion in a 5:30 contest. That is the last home game before the Crimson Hawks begin a four-game road swing beginning next Wednesday at Edinboro.