KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Redshirt senior Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) reached the 1,000 career point milestone as she helped lead the IUP women's basketball team to an 80-74 victory at Kutztown on Saturday afternoon at the Keystone Arena.
 
Stapleton scored 23 points, going 7-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and 7-of-7 from the foul line in 39 minutes of court time. She becomes the 21st player in IUP women's basketball program history to reach the 1,000 point milestone.
 
Her milestone point came on the first of two free throws, giving the Crimson Hawks a 57-56 lead with 7:43 to play. She made her second free throw, plus two layups and another one from the charity stripe to help IUP to its second win of the weekend. The Crimson Hawks improved to 7-3 overall with the win and 4-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Kutztown fell to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
 
Stapleton also grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists and had a steal. She's now 27-for-27 for the year from the foul line, the only qualifying player in the conference who is perfect from the charity stripe.
 
Another highlight of IUP's win came from senior forward Zhané Brooks, who posted a game-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. It was Brooks' fourth career double-double and her first this season.
 
Brooks went 9-of-13 from the field and made 6-of-9 from the foul line, grabbing six defensive and four offensive boards. She also dished out three assists on the afternoon.
 
The Crimson Hawks used a big fourth quarter performance, outscoring Kutztown 27-18, erasing a three-point deficit to win by six.
 
IUP was able to get to the line in the second half, going 15-of-22 from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes. The Crimson Hawks also connected on 15-of-25 from the field in the second half, shooting 56 percent (28-of-50) overall.
 
Also reaching double-figures on Saturday was sophomore Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry), who netted a season-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, going 2-of-4 from three-point range, while tallying five assists and a block.
 
Senior point guard Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) dished out six assists and had two steals while sophomore guard Halle Denman (Beaver Falls, Pa. /Blackhawk) scored seven points in 11 minutes off the bench.
 
The Crimson Hawks are off for 11 days and are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at home against 12th-ranked California (Pa.).
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.