CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Despite a career-high 28 points from junior forward Lexi Griggs, the third-ranked Crimson Hawks couldn't get past rival and 18th-ranked Cal U in a 73-65 loss to the Vulcans Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
 
It was just the second loss of the season for the Crimson Hawks, both coming to Cal, as they fall to 22-2 overall. Despite the loss they hold a one-game lead over the Vulcans in the divisional standings with a 17-2 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). With Cal at 16-3, IUP controls its own  destiny with two games left in the regular season.
 
Griggs was IUP's biggest weapon Saturday, finishing 13-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from the foul line with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the full 40 minutes.
 
She helped the Crimson Hawks shot just over 50 percent (27-of-53) on the day.
 
The Crimson Hawks used that hot shooting to get out to an early 12-5 midway through the opening quarter. The shots kept falling at a good pace as they led 20-17 on 9-of-13 shooting after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
IUP's post play took center stage as Griggs scored eight points and senior forward Brittany Robinson added six, making all seven combined shot attempts. Robinson finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
 
The Crimson Hawks were held back from a larger first quarter lead due to seven turnovers they committed during that time.
 
A layup by junior guard Natalie Myers gave IUP a 27-19 lead just a little over two minutes into the second quarter. Unfortunately, that 8-point lead would not hold much longer.
 
The Vulcans outscored IUP 22-6 over the next 7:40, using runs of 14-2 and 8-0 to grab momentum. The Crimson Hawks shot 5-of-14 in the second quarter and the Vulcans held a 13-5 rebounding advantage as they took a 41-33 lead into halftime.
 
Cal finished the game with a plus-10 advantage on the glass and used their 18 offensive rebounds to score 21 second chance points.
 
The Vulcans held a double-figure lead through most of the third quarter until IUP made its move to start the fourth. Sophomore guard Courtney Alexander and Griggs each made buckets and senior guard Lauren Wolosik knocked down a pair from the foul line to cut IUP's deficit to five points at 58-53 with 4:55 to play.
 
Wolosik also played all 40 minutes, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
 
It remained a 5-point game at 62-57 with a Griggs' bucket with 3:19 to go, but Cal answered with a 3-pointer which led to even straight points to take a 69-57 lead with just over a minute to play. The Vulcans were perfect from the foul line down the stretch, going 6-of-6 in the final 1:16 to ice the game.
 
Cal held the advantage from the foul line for the entire game, going 15-of-18 from the charity stripe compared to 9-of-16 for the Crimson Hawks.
 
The Vulcans also had a huge day from beyond the arc, hitting 10-of-21 from 3-point range. The 10 treys were the most in a game since they knocked down 11 in the third game of the season.  
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game No. 3 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 4 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … They are also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA's Atlantic Region rankings while Cal entered the weekend at No. 4 … IUP is 52-6 over the last two seasons with three of those losses coming to Cal … In the two 3was the second straight game Griggs put up a career-high, posting 24 points Wednesday against Clarion … For the week Griggs averaged 26.0 points on 83.3 percent (25-of-30) shooting … IUP outshot Cal 50.9 percent to 40.7 percent … It's the 23rd time in 24 games that the Crimson Hawks shot a better percentage from the floor than their opponent.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to rebound from their second loss of the season with another road game as they travel to Edinboro Wednesday. The Fighting Scots are 19-6 overall and third in the PSAC West with a 14-5 conference record. The Crimson Hawks won the first matchup of the season 97-73 at the Kovalchick Complex January 21. Tipoff Wednesday is 5:30 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.