Box Score

INDIANA, PA – Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) came off the bench to score 19 points, leading five Crimson Hawks who reached double-figures in points, as IUP upset Bloomsburg in women's basketball Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover action at the raucous Memorial Field House on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Crimson Hawks, undefeated on the year at 5-0, 3-0 in the PSAC, led at the break by seven before the Huskies quickly cut their deficit to two with a layup by reigning PSAC East Player of the Year Kelsey Gallagher followed by a three by Dana Weiller, as IUP held a 37-35 advantage.
 
IUP then struck back, getting back-to-back threes by Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) to get back on top by eight points less than two minutes into the half.
 
Bloomsburg cut its deficit back to four with another layup by Gallagher and a pair of free throws by Wieller, but Stapleton got a layup and Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East) scored on a layup of her own followed by a pair of free throws as the Crimson Hawks took a 10-point advantage, their largest lead of the game, with 14:08 remaining.
 
The Huskies then took control, going on an 11-2 run, sparked by a three by Catherine Noack and capped by a jumper by Kayla Oxenrider, with IUP holding a 53-52 lead with a little more than 10 minutes remaining. Both teams would then trade three-pointers, with Mathe hitting one before Gallagher had her own, followed by another by Mathe as the Crimson Hawks held a 61-57 lead with 8:14 left.
 
After a foul shot by Oxenrider, Wieller knocked down another three to tie the game at 61-apiece with 7:38 remaining, and would again tie the score two minute later when Gallagher hit one from the charity stripe to make the score 67-67.
 
The teams would go back-and-forth over the next few minutes, with Gallagher's layup at 2:10 bringing the Huskies to within two at 75-73. The Crimson Hawks were then sent to the line, as Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) hit a pair of free throws and following a turnover by Gallagher, took a six-point lead as Pastorek got an easy lay-in to go up 79-73 with 1:24 left in the game.
 
The Huskies then fought back, getting a three by Noack and following a free throw by Tejada, got a trey by Wieller to cut their deficit to 80-79 with 49 seconds left in the game.
 
The Crimson Hawks were unable to capitalize on their next trip down the court, missing a pair of free throws, but Stapleton forced a steal of Oxenrider and IUP got a pair of free throws by Mathe to take an 82-79 lead with 16 seconds left.  A three-pointer by Gallagher with six seconds remaining bounced off, and Pastorek got two more free throws, icing the game with three seconds remaining.
 
The Huskies led only twice in the game, gaining one-point advantages at 18-17 and 26-25 in the first half.  Mathe's jumper with two seconds left in the half gave IUP a 37-30 halftime lead.
 
Wieller scored a game-high 29 points for the Huskies, going 7-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point range, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line. Gallagher scored 16 points while Oxenrider finished with 15 points.
 
Mathe went 6-of-11 from the field, 5-of-8 from long-range, and made both of her foul shot attempts. She added five rebounds and had two steals in 26 minutes.
 
Pastorek, getting in foul trouble early, still scored 14 points in only 17 minutes on the court, grabbing three rebounds. Ashley Stoner (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Thomas Jefferson), Stapleton and Tejada each had 11 points, with Stoner grabbing six boards, Stapleton hitting three threes, and Tejada adding six rebounds.
 
The Crimson Hawks outrebounded the Huskies 48-26, grabbing 20 offensive boards to Bloomsburg's four, despite making just 56.7 percent (17-for-30) of their free throws compared to the Huskies 82.8 percent (24-for-29).
 
IUP hosts Mansfield tomorrow at the Memorial Field House, with tip-off set for 1:00 p.m.