Box Score

CLARION, PA – Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) scored 17 points as IUP built a 20-point second half lead only to watch Clarion rally late, but the Crimson Hawks held off the Golden Eagles for a 67-60 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division women's basketball action on Saturday evening at Tippin Gymnasium.

The win increases the Crimson Hawks record to 13-1, 9-1 in conference play as they move into sole possession of second place in the PSAC West with their win today and a 72-63 Gannon (11-3, 8-2) loss to Cal (9-5, 6-4).

After Clarion (4-10, 3-7) tied the game at 2-2 early on, IUP scored eight straight, with Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East), Pastorek and Arika Ullman (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough) all knocking down shots, to take an 10-2 lead. After a layup by the Golden Eagles Hannah Heeter got Clarion to within six, Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) was fouled shooting a three-pointer, making all ensuing free throws to put the Crimson Hawks on top by nine at 13-4 with 13:11 left in the half.

IUP's lead would fluctuate between 8-11 over the next several minutes until a layup by Stapleton and jumper by Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) gave the Crimson Hawks a 14-point lead at 26-12 with 4:27 remaining in the half. Clarion then responded with a three-pointer by Amanda Gough and would later get another trey by Emma Fickel and a layup by Ann Deibert to cut the deficit to six as IUP went into the half with a 28-22 advantage.

Clarion then cut the lead down even more at the beginning of the half, as Deibert's jumper got the Golden Eagles to within four at 28-24.

The Crimson Hawks responded on their very next trip down the floor when Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) drilled a three, putting them back on top by seven. Layups by Ullman and Pastorek over the next two minutes increased the lead to 11 with 17:14 left in the game.

After a jumper by Heeter less than a minute later cut Clarion's deficit to seven again, Fairman knocked down another three, jumpstarting a 12-0 IUP run that included buckets by four different Crimson Hawks and extended their lead to 19 at 47-28 with 12:28 remaining. They would increase their advantage to 20 at 51-31 less than three minutes later on a layup by Pastorek before the Golden Eagles started to make a comeback.

Clarion cut IUP's advantage to 51-37 with six straight points, four coming off the hand of Raven Jones, before a trey by Mathe put the Crimson Hawks back on top by 17. That didn't stop the Golden Eagles, however, as two-point buckets by Fickel and Heeter and a triple by Jones got Clarion to within 10 at 54-44 with 5:31 remaining.

After missed opportunities by both teams, a pair of free throws by Mackenzie Clark narrowed the gap even further as Clarion brought the deficit to eight with 4:10 on the clock. Both teams would then play a back-and-forth game, with the Crimson Hawks matching each Clarion field goal with points of their own, not allowing the Golden Eagles to get any closer than seven points, which they did with a pair of free throws by Fickel with 13 seconds left on the clock as IUP came away with the seven-point win.

Heeter finished with a double-double for the Golden Eagles, recording 11 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five steals. Fickel and Jones also reached double-figures in scoring with 15 and 13 points, respectively as Clarion shot 44.2 percent from the floor, but was forced into 26 turnovers by the tough IUP defense.

Pastorek's 17 points were a game-high, as she went 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. She added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 27 minutes. In her first game back since December 10, Stapleton came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in just 13 minutes. Fairman had another good all-around game with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals while Mathe added nine points and Melanie Todd (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) had eight boards.

The Crimson Hawks are back on the court next Wednesday as they host a huge PSAC West contest when fifth-ranked Edinboro visits the Kovalchick Complex. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.