EDINBORO, Pa. – Senior forward Zhané Brooks scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help the IUP women's basketball team score a 74-59 road win over Edinboro on Saturday afternoon at the McComb Fieldhouse.
The win was the fourth straight for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). IUP remains in third place, just one-half game behind California (Pa.) (6-1), which succumbed to the Crimson Hawks on Wednesday night.
The double-double was the second of the season – and fifth career – for Brooks. Her 16 rebounds also set a new career-high. Nine of her boards came on the offensive end, while adding two assists, a block, and a steal in 34 minutes.
Also reaching double-figures in scoring were senior guard
Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) with 14 points and freshman forward
Brittany Robinson (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin East) with a season-high 10 points. Robinson did her damage in just 15 minutes off the bench.
The Crimson Hawks took their first lead of the game on the first possession of the second quarter as senior guard
Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) drilled a three-pointer to put IUP on top 18-15. IUP later led 28-27 before scoring seven of the final 10 points in the quarter to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.
The lead quickly escalated to double-figures early in the third with a Brooks' layup putting the Crimson Hawks on top 41-30. Edinboro cut it to five late in the quarter, but IUP responded with a 20-6 run to build a 73-54 lead with over three minutes to play en route to the double-digits victory.
The Crimson Hawks shot 46 percent in the game, including 54 percent (13-of-24) in the second half alone, and limited Edinboro (9-5, 4-4) to just 30 percent shooting for the game. Two of the Fighting Scots' top players – Lauren Hippo and Katie Fischer – were held to a combined 6-of-36 shooting and 17 points.
This was the final action for the Crimson Hawks in 2015. They'll return to action on Sunday, Jan. 3 at Cheyney (1-9, 0-7).
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
