Feb 2, 2019 4 min read

Brooke Hinderliter scored a game-high 27 points, including 13-for-13 at the free-throw line, and Slippery Rock used a surge in the final five minutes to pull away for a stunning 72-61 upset of visiting California on Saturday in a PSAC West Division women’s basketball game.

Slippery Rock’s win ended one of the longest streaks of domination in college basketball. California had won 35 consecutive games against The Rock, a streak that lasted almost 17 years. The last time Slippery Rock defeated Cal was Feb. 6, 2002.

Cal, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II, falls to 12-2 in the division and 18-2 overall. The loss knocked the Vulcans out of a first-place tie with IUP. Slippery Rock improved to 7-7 in the conference and 9-11 overall.

California led 53-52 after Brionna Allen made two free throws with 5:42 remaining. A layup by LeeAnn Gibson gave The Rock a 54-53 edge and ignited a 12-2 run over the next 4:06 as Slippery Rock moved out to a 64-55 advantage.

California was held to a season-worst 32 percent shooting and committed 20 turnovers. Seairra Barrett scored 26 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Jiahna Flood-Francis was the only other player in double figures for the Vulcans. She had 16 points. The other three starters for Cal were held to a combined seven points.

Once in the lead in the fourth quarter, The Rock was able to stay there because of its free-throw shooting. In addition to Hinderliter’s 13-for-13, Madison Johnson, who came off the bench to score 19 points, was 9-for-9. The Rock made 27 of 32 free throws compared to Cal’s 14 of 19.

Thiel 73, Washington & Jefferson 64: Jess Vormelker scored 26 points and Thiel made a season-high 13 three-pointers en route to a 73-64 upset of Washington & Jefferson in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

Vormelker made six three-pointers and helped Thiel (3-8, 5-15) build a 44-29 halftime lead. The Tomcats made six three-pointers in the opening half.

W&J (10-3, 14-7) tried to rally in the fourth quarter but never got closer than eight points.

Thiel’s Destiny Johnson had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Vormelker had 11 rebounds and finished with an odd triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

W&J sophomore forward Maria Lawhorne had her first collegiate double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. Alie Seto scored 13 points and Hannah Johnston 10.

Men’s results

Wash & Jeff 80, Thiel 76, OT: Okikiola Agbale’s three-point play with 28 seconds remaining in overtime broke a tie and sent Washington & Jefferson to an 80-76 victory over Thiel in a PAC game at Henry Memorial Center.

Agbale, who finished with a season-high 14 points, converted a three-point play that gave W&J a 79-76 lead. Thiel (4-7, 6-14) then missed a potential game-tying three-pointer and Primo Zini sealed the win for W&J by making a free throw.

W&J (7-6, 9-13), which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, led 33-27 at halftime. The Presidents still had to force overtime at 68-68 with Zach Queen’s three-pointer with four seconds left in regulation.

Cameron Seemann led four W&J players in double figures with 21 points. Nicholas Campalong came off the bench to score 17 points and Zini had 12.

Thiel’s Terrance Holloway had a game-high 26 points and Daquan Simmons had 20.

Slippery Rock 91, california 71: Micah Till scored 25 points and Slippery Rock made 14 three-pointers in a 91-71 victory over visiting California in a PSAC West game.

The Rock (12-2, 15-6) had seven different players make a three-pointer and were 14-for-29 from behind the stripe. Slippery Rock also beat Cal on the boards by a 52-42 margin with Till grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

Cal (5-9, 7-13) shot only 37 percent though Brent Pegram had 23 points and made four three-pointers. Zyan Collins scored 19 points and Collin MacAdams 10.

Slippery Rock’s Jason Fowlkes, a freshman guard from Canon-McMillan, had 11 points. he was 3-for-5 from three-point range.

Thomas More 80, Waynesburg 63: Garren Bertsch scored a season-high 20 points and Thomas More pulled away over the final 15 minutes to defeat host Waynesburg 80-63 in a nonconference game.

Thomas More (15-7) led 35-30 at halftime but Waynesburg cut its deficit to one point in the second half but never took the lead because the Saints went on a 10-0 run that opened a 59-45 lead and the Yellow Jackets never recovered.

Ryan Callahan had 17 points for Thomas More and Kedan Davis came off the bench to score 15.

Matt Popeck led Waynesburg (6-15) with 18 points, including four of the Yellow Jackets’ 10 three-pointers. Frank Bozicevic had 14 points and Nate Gearhart 10.