Boxscore

IUP fought its way back from a terrible offensive first half to nearly wipe out a 15-point deficit but could not complete the comeback in a 61-50 loss to Edinboro in a matchup of the top two teams in the PSAC West.

The Crimson Hawks saw their six-game winning streak end while losing for only the second time in their past 16 games to drop to 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the PSAC West. The Fighting Scots won for the sixth straight time and moved to 20-3 and 10-1 in the division while snapping a 10-game losing streak to IUP.

California also stayed in the hunt for one of the top two seeds out of the PSAC West and a home game in the quarterfinals of the conference playoffs with a win over Slippery Rock. The Vulcans are a half game behind IUP at 8-3.

Earlier in the day, Edinboro moved up to No. 1 in the Atlantic Region while IUP jumped two spots to No. 6. But any hope of the Crimson Hawks moving up high enough to be in contention to host the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament likely ended with Wednesday's loss.

Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) returned from a one-game absence to post her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 18 points and team-best 11 rebounds. Brianna Johnson (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) also reached double figures in scoring with 14 points. The two sophomore forwards combined to make nine field goals, three more than the rest of the IUP roster.

IUP dug itself a huge hole by making only 2 of 28 field goal attempts and falling behind 31-16 after the opening 20 minutes. Only 12 of 14 shooting from the free throw line kept the Crimson Hawks within striking distance.

Edinboro maintained a lead of no fewer than nine points over the opening 10 minutes of the second half before IUP an attempt to duplicate its comeback over California last Wednesday when the Crimson Hawks overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat their biggest division rival.

A layup by Johnson got IUP within 47-39 with 7:52 remaining, and Edinboro's Renee Brown missed two shots on the other end. Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook)' 3-point try that would have brought the surging Crimson Hawks within five went halfway down before popping out.

Trailing 49-41 less than a minute later, Vianca Tejaca had a 3-pointer bounce off the rim twice, and the Fighting Scots made it a double figure lead again when Kerry Connolly made two free throws at the 6:22 mark.

The 3-point misses by Withers and Tejada were part of a problem the entire night for the Crimson Hawks, who failed to connect on any of their 10 attempts from beyond the arc. IUP was 13 for 32 overall in the second half but still finished at just 25 percent for the game and was outrebounded 51-36.

Kiara Brown led the Fighting Scots with 14 points, and Renee Brown, Samantha Blazetic and Connolly each had 10. Renee Brown and Blazetic had double-doubles with 13 and 11 rebounds, respectively.

The Crimson Hawks had one last opportunity to draw closer, getting within 53-46 with 2:58 to go, but Withers missed the front end of a one-and-one. A layup by Johnson again got it down to a seven-point game, but Darche' Jackson's second straight basket at the 1:39 mark sealed IUP's fate.

IUP is on the road for its next two games, traveling to Clarion on Saturday before visiting Lock Haven on Monday in the makeup of a game that was postponed on February 2. The Crimson Hawks then host Lock Haven next Wednesday before finishing the regular season at home a week from Saturday against Mercyhurst.