INDIANA, Pa. – Sophomore Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Catholic) scored a career-high 18 points for the Crimson Hawks as IUP women's basketball defeated visiting Mercyhurst 68-57 on Education Day at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Children from three Indiana-area elementary schools – Homer Center, St. Bernard Catholic, and Indiana – saw the Crimson Hawks win their 2015-16 home opener and improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). It was a special morning start time as the tipoff came at 11 a.m.
 
Wolosik finished 6-of-16 from the field and went 6-of-8 from the foul line, eclipsing her previous career-high of 17 points she had last year while at Central Connecticut State against Vermont. She also grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists.
 
Mercyhurst outshot the Crimson Hawks 42 percent to 39 percent, but IUP forced 13 turnovers and outrebounded the Lakers 42-to-31. The Crimson Hawks also got to the line often, going 16-of-21 compared to just 3-of-9 for Mercyhurst.
 
IUP took a 29-24 lead into halftime after two relatively low-scoring quarters. Both teams then exploded in the third quarter, combining for 45 points as the Lakers narrowed their deficit to 51-47. Mercyhurst got as close as three points at 46-43, as a layup by Angela Heinz capped an 8-3 run for the Lakers.
 
The Crimson Hawks took control in the fourth quarter, scoring the first eight points to take a 61-47 lead with 6:43 to play. Freshman forward Kendall Hunter (Burke, Va. /Paul VI Catholic) scored six points during the run, connecting on 4-of-4 from the foul line.
 
Mercyhurst (0-3, 0-1 PSAC) did score six straight points in the middle of the quarter to cut the Crimson Hawks lead to six at 61-55, but IUP responded by scoring seven straight points en route to the 11-point victory.
 
Hunter finished with 11 points and five rebounds, adding two blocks and two steals in 17 minutes off the bench. Senior guard Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) scored 16 points and had five rebounds.
 
Senior forward Zhané Brooks and sophomore forward Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) each had a team-high nine rebounds and senior guard Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) dished out five assists.
 
This was the first of three home games this week for the Crimson Hawks, who host East Stroudsburg and West Chester this Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Both games will tipoff at 1 p.m. Saturday's game against ESU will be held in the Memorial Field House.

For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.