INDIANA, PA – A season-high 20 points by
Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) helped lead the Crimson Hawks to an 85-52 victory over Shepherd Wednesday morning at the KCAC.
In addition to leading the team in points, Stapleton also tallied four assists, four rebounds, and went 7-for-9 in field goals and 3-for-5 in three pointers.
Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) scored the first points of the game for IUP in the first minute of play.
Ashley Stoner (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Thomas Jefferson) and Stapleton together added four more points to give the Crimson Hawks a 7-0 lead before the Rams responded three minutes later. The team then went on a 13-point scoring drive, holding Shepherd at 4 points while IUP jumped to 21.
Shepherd and IUP went into halftime with the Crimson Hawks leading 37-23. The second half went by with IUP leading by at least 10 points the full 20 minutes.
Defensively for the Crimson Hawks,
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) recorded three steals, with
Halle Denman (Beaver Falls, Pa. /Blackhawk) adding two.
Zhane Brooks (Erie, Pa. /Villa Maria),
Alexis Aiken (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Allegheny) and Stoner all tallied one block each, and
Lindsay Stamp (Erie, Pa. /Mercyhurst Prep) posted two. In addition to blocks and steals, the IUP defense also found 42 of the total 61 rebounds caught in the game.
Other high scorers for IUP were Stamp, 17 points, and Stoner, 16 points. Stamp also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds on the day.
The Crimson Hawks continued shooting well from the foul line, finishing the game 21-of-27 and a .778 FT%.
Monica Burns (New Stanton, Pa. /Hempfield ), Fairman and Stapleton all shot perfectly from the line, not missing a shot.
As a whole, IUP posted 18 assists, with six coming from Mathe who leads the team with a 25 total this season.
Wednesday's game set a new record in attendance for women's basketball with 2,022 attendees. Joining the crowd today were students, teachers and faculty from Homer Center, Marion Center and Purchase Line elementary schools. These guests were bused to the KCAC as part of the inaugural Education Day.
This win improved the team's overall record to 5-0, 1-0 in the PSAC. IUP is back in action December 3 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to the Mercyhurst Lakers at the KCAC.
