Box Score

ERIE, PA - Arika Ullman (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough) scored a career-high 18 points, connecting on five three-pointers, while Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) had a team-high 21 points as they led 18th-ranked IUP to a 59-55 overtime victory over Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Erie.

Ullman's 18 points came on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, connecting on 5-of-7 threes while the Crimson Hawks rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to send it to overtime, eventually outscoring the Lakers 10-6 in the extra five minutes to complete the win and move to 14-2 on the year, 10-2 in PSAC play.

Opening up the second half, Ullman knocked down her third three of game to cut the Mercyhurst lead to 28-21 just 17 seconds in. Another three by Ullman just 1:37 later got the Crimson Hawks to within four at 30-26 as IUP opened the half on an 8-2 run. After a layup by Mercyhurst's Nikki Frederickson gave the Lakers a six-point lead, the Crimson Hawks scored three straight buckets, getting a jumper by Ullman and layups from Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel) and Pastorek to tie the score at 32-32 with 14:21 left in the half.

Pastorek would tie the score again 3:17 later with a pair of free throws and put IUP on top for the first time in the game at the 10:14 mark with two more connections from the charity stripe as the Crimson Hawks held a 36-34 advantage. They extended the lead to four with a layup by Pastorek with 9:03 remaining, before back-to-back three-pointers by Mercyhurst's Dana Banda and Megan Hoffman gave the Lakers a 40-38 lead with 6:24 left.

Both teams would exchange leads over the next few minutes before a pair of free throws by Frederickson at 1:04 gave the Lakers a four-point lead and another two by her put Mercyhurst in front 47-41 with 38 seconds remaining in the game.

Ullman would come up big, knocking down her fifth three of the game on IUP's next trip down the floor to cut the deficit down to three with 31 seconds remaining. The Crimson Hawks would foul, putting the Lakers in a one-and-one situation that they would end up missing on their first attempt, giving the ball back to IUP with less than 20 seconds on the clock.

Watson was then sent to the line, connecting on both of her foul shots with 14 seconds left to make it a one-point game at 47-46. The IUP defense then came up big as Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) got the steal, feeding fellow freshman Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center), who was fouled shooting a three-pointer, sending her to the line to shoot three foul shots with 10 seconds left. Playing clutch for a first-year player, Fairman made all three of her attempts, giving IUP a 49-47 lead. However, as Mercyhurst attempted to tie, IUP fouled and sent Banda to the line where she made both of her attempts with one second on the clock, sending the game to overtime.

Stapleton got the scoring going at the 4:10 mark of the extra period knocking down her own three-pointer to give IUP a 52-49 lead. After a free throw by Hoffman cut IUP's lead to two, Pastorek connected on a layup to build the lead back to four as the Crimson Hawks took a 54-50 advantage with 2:55 left on the clock. 

Again Mercyhurst would connect on 1-of-2 from the line to cut its deficit to three, and again IUP would respond with Watson knocking down a jumper to give the Crimson Hawks a 56-51 lead with 2:27 left. The Lakers cut it to three again but free throws by Pastorek and Stapleton, the latter being with 20 seconds remaining, put IUP back on top by five. A layup by Frederickson with 14 seconds left got the Lakers back to three but a free throw by Ullman with 13 seconds left on the clock gave the Crimson Hawks a four point lead, essentially icing the game for the IUP win.

IUP outscored the Lakers 41-27 over the final 25 minutes of action and forced 25 Mercyhurst turnovers in the win. Mercyhurst caught fire in the first half, building a lead as big as 14 points before the Crimson Hawks rallied.

Frederickson scored a game-high 22 points for Mercyhurst, going 8-of-11 from the field and grabbing eight boards in 38 minutes. Banda was the only other Laker in double-figures, scoring 10 points and adding four assists in 43 minutes.

Ullman's 36 minutes were also a career-high, while Pastorek never left the floor in scoring her 21 points, going 5-of-10 from the field but more importantly, 11-of-13 from the foul line. She added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

The Crimson Hawks return home for their final Wednesday home game of the year next week as they host Lock Haven at the Kovalchick Complex. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.