Boxscore

IUP blew open a close game in the second half in a 77-47 victory over Mercyhurst that wrapped up second place in the PSAC West and a home game against California in the opening round of the conference playoffs on Tuesday.

The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season at 19-7 overall and 11-3 in the PSAC West, the same division record as California, but earned the right to host the Vulcans by virtue of a win earlier this season over Edinboro. Mercyhurst (15-14, 7-7 PSAC West) finished fourth in the division and play at Edinboro in the quarterfinals.

In the PSAC East, Kutztown will be at Bloomsburg and West Chester visits Millersville in first round action. The highest remaining Eastern Division seed following Tuesday's games will host the final four next Friday and Saturday.

Six IUP players reached double figures, with Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) leading the way with 15 points and Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook) scoring all 14 of her points in the second half when the Crimson Hawks outscored the Lakers 47-23 to break open what was just a 30-24 lead at intermission. Withers is now 44 points away from reaching the 1,000 mark in her career.

Withers was one of two seniors playing their final regular season home game at Memorial Field House. Lacey Claar (Imler, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel), who has played in all 117 games during her career at IUP, finished with 11 points and five assists and moved into 14th place in school history with 1,161 points and a tie for third with 387 assists.

Katelyn Marshall (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) added 12 points and Brianna Johnson (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) and Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East) both had 11 in a balanced IUP scoring attack. Johnson and Tejada also led the Crimson Hawks on the boards with seven and six, respectively, Johnson made four of IUP's 15 steals and Marshall dished out seven assists.

Amy Achesinski had a double-double for Mercyhurst with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Samantha Loadman added 11 points. The Lakers, who have lost six in a row to IUP since joining the PSAC in 2008-09, hurt their cause with 29 turnovers which the Crimson Hawks turned into 34 points. The Lakers managed only six points off 10 IUP miscues.

Mercyhurst was as close as three in the opening minute of the second half and trailed 34-29 after a layup by Achesinski at the 17:47 mark. IUP then went on an 8-1 run that ended with a Johnson layup that put the Crimson Hawks in front 42-30. The lead dropped below double figures only once the rest of the way at 42-33, but six straight IUP points made it a 15-point margin.

The Lakers stayed within reasonable striking distance, cutting their deficit to 56-43 on a 3-pointer by Loadman with 7:55 remaining, before IUP scored 21 of the game's final 25 points to blow it wide open.

IUP held an opponent under 50 points for the ninth time this season and tied a school record with its 11th PSAC West win of the season. Under head coach Jeff Dow, the Crimson Hawks are 32-10 in division play and 58-20 dating back to the 2005-06 season.

Dow finished his third regular season at IUP with a record of 62-23. He led the Crimson Hawks to the last of their three straight PSAC tournament championships in 2009, and IUP will be seeking its fourth title in the past five years when the tournament gets under way on Tuesday.