BOONE, N.C. - There were several ups and downs at the Holmes Center on Sunday morning as Appalachian State women's basketball opened the season with a 72-58 loss to California (Pa.) in the season-opening exhibition. Appalachian sank 26-of-30 free throws but shot under 30 percent from the floor in the first competition of the year.

The first bucket of the game came just over a minute after play began as Brittney Spencer took an inbounds pass in the corner from Sam Ramirez and drained a three-pointer. Sad? Means then extended the lead a minute later with a putback layup.

Spencer scored what would be a career-high 10 points and added four steals and a pair of rebounds. Means finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three steals and a team-high three assists.

Frances knocked down a trey to give the Apps an 8-2 lead before Cal made a run, scoring 11-straight points to take a 13-8 lead. Appalachian then tied the game with a three-point play from Catherine Williams and layup from Means.

Williams scored 11 points and led all players with nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. The freshman accounted for all four blocks for the Mountaineers as well.

The Mountaineers scored their next nine points at the free throw line as the teams stayed within two points. The Apps then converted three fast-break layups to take a lead at 28-26 before the Vulcans rattled off five-straight points. The final three Appalachian points of the half came on free throws as ASU pulled within 36-31 at the half.

After the intermission, the Vulcans opened with the first five points before Williams and Ramirez each converted passes from Means. Hernandez then sank five free throws to cut the deficit to 45-40. Means then got back in on the scoring with a three-pointer from the corner. With just over 13 minutes remaining, Hernandez banked in jumper from Means as Appalachian pulled within a point at 48-47.

Hernandez led the team in points with 14 and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. ASU's 26 free throws surpassed last year's highest total of 24 and matched the highest percentage from a season ago at 86.7. All told, the Apps shot 28 percent from the floor compared to 43 percent for the Vulcans in the game.

Cal scored 10-straight over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach, before Haley Hackett broke up the run with a free throw. Six minutes passed before ASU scored again, when Williams sank a pair of free throws. Mixon sank two from the stripe a minute later to make the score 64-51.

Hernandez sank two more free throws and Means nailed a three-pointer to pull within 12 with one minute remaining. Mixon scored her second and third points of the game from the charity stripe in the waning seconds of the game.

In the spirit of allowing the teams to compete without a few of the restrictions of an official game, Cal's top three scorers combined to commit 22 fouls.

Appalachian officially opens the season in less than two weeks, as former Southern Conference foe Marshall visits the Holmes Center on November 14.