Box Score

INDIANA, PA – Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) had a game-high 16 points and Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel) hit three huge three-pointers in the span of 1:19 late the in the second half to extend IUP's lead from eight points to 19 points as the Crimson Hawks put away West Chester in a 61-42 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's basketball crossover matchup on Friday night at the Kovalchick Complex.

The win extends IUP's unbeaten record to 11-0 on the season, 7-0 in PSAC play.

The Crimson Hawks came out strong in their first action since December 19, not missing a beat against the Golden Rams, who were tied for the top spot in the PSAC East entering the weekend crossover. After an Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) jumper put IUP ahead 4-3 1:29 into the game, the Crimson Hawks got layups by Pastorek and Arika Ullman (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough), and free throws by Ashley Stoner (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Thomas Jefferson) and Pastorek to take an early 12-3 lead.

A layup by West Chester's Paige Elliott stopped the 10-0 IUP run to bring the deficit back to seven before IUP scored the next six points, including four from Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) who was seeing her first action since the Bloomsburg game back on December 3.

Down 18-5, the Golden Rams (8-3, 4-3) cut their deficit back to seven with a pair of layups by Alex Lennon and one from Ambreelinne Ortman. West Chester then scored eight of the next 12 points over the next 4:38 to cut IUP's lead down to 22-19 with 5:05 left in the half.

A three-pointer by Mathe stopped the Golden Rams run, getting the Crimson Hawks lead back to six, where it would stay after some back-and-forth play the rest of the half as IUP went into the break with a 31-25 lead.

West Chester cut it to four twice in the early going of the second half, but IUP kept the Golden Rams at bay with tough defense, extending the lead to 10 at 41-31 with a pair of free throws by Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East) at the 13:22 mark.

A lay-in by Lennon got it back to eight before IUP answered with a trey by Fairman at 9:34 to get the Crimson Hawks lead back to double-digits at 44-33.

Both teams would go on somewhat of a scoring drought, as West Chester scored three points over the next 3:31 to climb back to within eight again with just over six minutes left.

That's when Watson started reigning threes, knocking down her first from the right wing with 5:44 left to get IUP back on top by 11. She would hit her second less than a minute later, extending the Crimson Hawks lead to 15 at 52-37 before the knock-out blow at 4:25, swishing her third to put IUP up 56-37. The 19-point lead would stretch to as many as 22 as the Crimson Hawks easily put away one of the top teams in the conference.

Lennon posted a double-double for West Chester, getting 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks. She was the most consistent player on a team that was forced into 17 turnovers and shot just 24.2 percent (15-of-62) from the floor and 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the foul line.

Pastorek added seven rebounds to her point total, connecting on 7-of-12 from the field, adding three assists and three steals. All of Watson's nine points came on threes, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and adding a pair of assists. Stoner, Fairman and Tejada each had eight boards as the Crimson Hawks out-rebounded West Chester 52-38.

The Crimson Hawks return to the court tomorrow night when they host Millersville, which was a part of the three-way tie in the PSAC East for first place. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.