Box Score

INDIANA, PA - Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) notched her fifth double-double of the year with 24 points and 12 rebounds while three other Crimson Hawks scored in double-figures as 17th-ranked IUP defeated Clarion 78-62 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division women's basketball matchup on Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.

Freshman Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana), getting her second straight start, scored 18 points, knocking down four three-pointers, and added a season-high seven assists for the Crimson Hawks, who forced Clarion into 25 turnovers. Fellow freshmen Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) and Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) also reached doube-figures in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

IUP (17-3, 13-3) held an early 8-4 lead but Clarion rallied to tie the game at the 16:17 mark then take the lead less than a minute later after an offensive rebound and putback by Hannah Heeter. That would be the beginning of an 11-1 run for Clarion as the Golden Eagles took a 15-9 lead less than halfway into the first half.

The Golden Eagles (6-14, 5-11) would build their lead to nine points twice in the first half before a pair of free throws by Pastorek jumpstarted a huge 20-3 run by IUP over the final 6:10 of the half, as the Crimson Hawks went into the break with a 38-30 lead. The Crimson Hawks would get scoring from five different players during the run, including threes by both Mathe and Fairman.

Clarion would hang around during the first few minutes of the second half, as IUP would be able to lead by just eight in the first six minutes.

However, back-to-back threes by Mathe would ignite the Crimson Hawks as they scored eight straight to go on top by 15 at 54-39 with 12:13 left to play.

The Golden Eagles would claw back several times during the rest of the second half, with IUP continuously building leads of 12-15 points only to see Clarion cut its deficit to eight each time.

That final eight-point lead came with 2:43 left, as a layup by the Golden Eagles Raven Jones made it 69-61. The Crimson Hawks would then put Clarion away from there, getting a three-point play by Pastorek which started a 9-1 IUP to end the game, coming away with the 16-point victory.

The win wrapped up the season sweep for IUP of the Golden Eagles, including the 67-60 come-from-behind victory at Clarion back on January 14.

The Crimson Hawks remain in third place in the PSAC West after Gannon's win tonight. Just three games separate Edinboro, the Golden Knights, and IUP, with conference records of 16-0, 14-2 and 13-3, respectively.

IUP held a huge turnover advantage at the break, forcing Clarion to give up the ball 20 times compared to just four for the Crimson Hawks.

Heeter got another double-double for the Golden Eagles with a relatively quiet 17 points and 11 rebounds, fouling out in the final minutes. Jones and Ann Deibert also reached double-figures with 10 points each.

Although she didn't have a good shooting night, going 6-of-15 from the field, Pastorek connected on 12-of-13 from the foul line, while six of her 12 rebounds came on the offensive end.

Mathe finished 4-of-10 from three-point range, adding two steals, and had just two turnovers in a season-high 36 minutes. Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel) scored six points in her first action in three games while Vianca Tejada (Pennsauken, NJ/Cherry Hill East) added five rebounds off the bench.

The Crimson Hawks are back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Cal to take on the rival Vulcans. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.