Box Score

INDIANA, PA – Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) scored a game-high 20 points for 12th-ranked IUP as the Crimson Hawks defeated 22nd-ranked Bloomsburg 68-54 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's basketball action on Tuesday evening at the KCAC.

The Crimson Hawks improve to 7-1 overall with the 14-point victory, including a 3-1 mark in PSAC play. Bloomsburg drops to 5-2, 2-2 in the conference.

The play was tight and physical from the outset; with Bloomsburg using a pair of threes by Catherine Noack to take a 6-0 lead within the first 75 seconds. The Crimson Hawks closed the gap to one with a layup by Melanie Todd (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) and a three by Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel), making it a 6-5 game at the 14:26 mark.

Neither team could find the basket over the next four-plus minutes, as a Lauren Ellis layup broke the scoring drought at 10:22 and gave Bloomsburg an 8-5 lead. IUP responded with a three by Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) to tie the score, also starting a 13-2 run that gave the Crimson Hawks an 18-10 lead with just under four minutes to go in the first.

A pair of free throws by Pastorek kept IUP's lead at eight points but the Huskies went on an 11-2 run over a four-minute span to take a 23-22 lead with just 43 seconds left before the half. Lisa Burton (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Penn Hills) would get a good look just 10 seconds later and drilled a jumper, helping IUP to a 24-23 lead heading into the break.

The physicality would heat up in the second half and so would the Crimson Hawks, who limited Bloomsburg to just a 25 percent conversion rate from the floor (7-of-28) while shooting 42.9 percent (9-of-21) themselves. IUP also went 23-of-31 from the foul line in the second stanza, outscoring the Huskies 44-31.

A pair of layups by Pastorek along with a free throw out of the gate gave IUP a 29-25 lead before a three by Mathe and a pair of shots from the foul line by Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) put the Crimson Hawks up by seven less than two minutes into the half.

The lead grew to 10 five minutes later when Pastorek again converted a layup while being fouled, following with a free throw to make it a 40-30 game.

Bloomsburg came right back, going on a 12-5 run over the next 6:04 to cut its deficit to 45-42 with less than eight minutes remaining.

But the Crimson Hawks again answered Bloomsburg's challenge, as a three by Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel) by free throws by Mathe and Pastorek helped put IUP in front by 11 at 56-45 with under four minutes to play. The closest the Huskies would get the rest of the way was nine points as IUP closed out the game with a 14-point win, its second straight victory in this new rivalry.

The meeting was the fourth between these two PSAC East-West rivals since December of 2011, playing each other in the regular season, PSAC tournament, and NCAA regional tournament a year ago. IUP has three victories in those four matchups, including a 77-76 win over the Huskies in the NCAA Atlantic Regional quarterfinal.

IUP's tough defense limited Bloomsburg's leading scorer Dana Weiller to just nine points on 1-of-11 shooting as no Huskies player reached double-digits in points. The Crimson Hawks forced 20 turnovers and allowed Bloomsburg to shoot just 29.1 percent (16-of-55) from the floor.

Of Pastorek's 20 points, half came from the foul line as she went 10-of-13. She also grabbed seven rebounds and had a block and a steal in 39 minutes on the court.

She also surpassed Jacqui Martin (2000-04) for 18th on the IUP all-time scoring list and currently has 1,089 career points.

Mathe had 14 points, going 3-of-8 from three-point range with five rebounds while Watson chipped in 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench. Fairman added four points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

IUP outrebounded Bloomsburg 41-31 and made 26-of-37 from the foul line.

Earlier in the day the Crimson Hawks moved up to No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. IUP jumped up three spots from No. 15 despite not playing a single game since December 8. Receiving 323 points in the voting, the Crimson Hawks are 91 behind Holy Family for 11th in the poll. Ashland remains the nation's number one ranked team, sitting at 12-0 on the season. Along with Bloomsburg at No. 22, Gannon is the third PSAC school in the poll, coming in at No. 8 for the second straight week. (WBCA Release)

The Crimson Hawks continue with their back-to-back PSAC crossover matchups on Wednesday as they host Mansfield at the KCAC. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.