Boxscore

Katelyn Marshall (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) scored 22 points, including eight in a game-clinching second half stretch, to lead IUP to a 63-47 win at Slippery Rock and set up a showdown with Edinboro for the PSAC West lead on Wednesday.

The Crimson Hawks (16-5, 8-1 PSAC West) won their sixth in a row and 14th in their past 15 and stayed one-half game behind Edinboro for first place in the division. The Fighting Scots improved to 9-1 with a 68-57 win over Clarion.

IUP has played one fewer game than Edinboro as a result of having a game at Lock Haven postponed. That contest will be made up Monday, February 21. The game between the Crimson Hawks and Fighting Scots tips off at Memorial Field House on Wednesday at 5:30.

Lacey Claar (Imler, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel) had 13 points, seven assists and four steals, and Brianna Johnson (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) finished with 10 points and six boards. Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook), IUP's leading scorer, was held to five points but led the Crimson Hawks with seven rebounds.

The Crimson Hawks played without Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort), who was out with an illness.

Danielle Smith was the only Slippery Rock (3-19, 1-9) player in double figures, scoring 12 points while grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

IUP, ranked eighth in the Atlantic Region, never trailed in its ninth straight win over Slippery Rock. A 3-pointer by Claar gave the Crimson Hawks a 15-2 lead just six minutes into the game, and IUP was able to shake off a 10-0 Slippery Rock run that briefly cut the margin to three.

The Crimson Hawks outscored the Rock 12-4 after it got close, a run that included a three-point play and another 3-pointer by Claar, and took a 35-27 lead into halftime.

Marshall put the game out of reach with a spurt of eight points in a span of just over three minutes early in the second half, culminating the run with two free throws at the 14:27 mark that gave IUP a 43-27 lead. The Crimson Hawks were ahead by as many as 21 in the final eight minutes.

Marshall has scored in double figures 12 times in her last 15 games and reached the 20-point mark for the second time this year, falling three shy of her season-high 25 against Gannon.

Claar, meanwhile, moved up another spot on the IUP career assist list. The senior guard increased her total to 366, moving past Carrie Maitland for fifth place and within two of eclipsing Cathy Torchia for fourth.