Boxscore

IUP overcame a late deficit and got clutch free throw shooting from Lacey Claar (Imler, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel) and Alex Vega (Highland, Md./River Hill) down the stretch to post a 75-74 win over Mercyhurst and stay in a tie for the lead in the PSAC West.

The Crimson Hawks won their third in a row and 11th in their past 12 games to improve to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC West. IUP is tied for the division lead with Edinboro, and California can make it a three-way tie with a win over Lock Haven later Saturday.

Mercyhurst, which had won seven of its past eight games, dropped out of a share of the PSAC West lead and is 12-9 overall and 4-2 in division play. IUP has won six in a row in the series and has not lost to Mercyhurst since the Lakers joined the PSAC three years ago.

IUP trailed 72-69 with 1:14 left but pulled back within one on a layup by Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) at the 1:01 mark. Mercyhurst missed two shots on its next possession, and Claar made two free throws after being fouled with 23 seconds remaining.

Samantha Loadman turned the ball over and Alex Vega (Highland, Md./River Hill) was fouled with just 10 seconds left. The freshman calmly drained both charity tosses to give the Crimson Hawks a 75-72 lead and allowed them to survive a basket by Amy Achesinski as time expired.

IUP played without leading scorer Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook), who was ejected late in Wednesday's win over Edinboro and had to sit out as per PSAC rules. But the Crimson Hawks put four players in double figures, including three 3-pointers and 11 points by Arika Ullman (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough), who started in place of Withers.

Claar led IUP with 20 points and five assists while playing the entire 40 minutes. Brianna Johnson (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) matched her career high with 19 points, and Pastorek hit 8 of 9 from the field and finished with 17 points. Johnson and Pastorek tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.

Achesinki led all scorers with 26 points for the Lakers and Loadman added 19. Mercyhurst shot 60.9 percent from the field, the highest of the season against IUP and only the third time this year the Crimson Hawks have allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent.

IUP, which made half of its 52 field goal attempts, took advantage of 22 Mercyhurst turnovers to score 26 points off Laker mistakes.

The Crimson Hawks built a 10-point lead on two occasions in the first half, but Mercyhurst battled back to within 33-30 at the break. The lead changed hands six times and was tied on four occasions in a nip-and-tuck second half.

A layup by Claar tied it at 63 with four minutes to go. The Lakers responded with a 3-pointer by Loadman and two free throws by Megan Hoffman to take a five-point lead. A basket by Abby Allen kept Mercyhurst in front by five at 70-65 with 2:49 to go before IUP staged its late rally.

The Crimson Hawks will look to remain perfect in their four-game road swing when they travel to Lock Haven on Wednesday. IUP finishes the trip and the first round of PSAC West games at Gannon next Saturday before returning to Memorial Field House to host California on Feb. 9.