PITTSBURGH – Senior Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) scored 19 points and the Crimson Hawks outscored Pitt 34-31 in the second half, but it wasn't enough as IUP fell to the Panthers 75-60 in women's basketball exhibition action on Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.
 
Stapleton's game-high came on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. She went 2-of-3 from the foul line and added three rebounds in 29 minutes of work.
 
The Crimson Hawks trailed 44-26 at the break, shooting 30.8 percent from the field. They came out hot in the third quarter, scoring on five straight possessions to go on a 12-6 run and cut Pitt's lead to 50-38 on a Stapleton three-pointer at the 4:36 mark.
 
Pitt did make a run to go back on top by 17 heading into the fourth quarter, but IUP outscored the Panthers 15-14 in the third to cut its deficit to 58-41.
 
The start of the fourth quarter was a mirror image of the third, as the Crimson Hawks scored on five straight possessions and used a big three by Stapleton to cut the Pitt lead to 12 at 64-52 with 5:38 left.
 
The Panthers responded with back-to-back threes by Brenna Wise and Yacine Diop to increase their lead to 18 and held off a late IUP run to come away with the 15-point win.
 
Wise and Diop were Pitt's top two scorers with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Pitt shot 54.7 percent from the field and made 5-of-12 three-pointers. Three starters from last year's NCAA tournament team returned for Pitt this year, highlighted by Diop.
 
IUP shot 37 percent for the game and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Crimson Hawks turned the ball over just nine times and were edged in rebounding by just one (34-33).
 
Senior forward Zhane Brooks (Erie, Pa. /Villa Maria) scored 12 points and had seven rebounds in 26 minutes. Senior guard Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) scored seven points and assisted on two buckets while freshman forward Brittany Robinson (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin East) came off the bench to score seven and grab six rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
It was the final exhibition game for the Crimson Hawks, who officially start their season on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Bowie State.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.