INDIANA, Pa. – Four Crimson Hawks reached double-figures in scoring and IUP held off a second half Slippery Rock rally for an 81-70 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's basketball win on Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
It was the seventh straight victory for IUP, which improved to 12-3 overall and is now a half-game back of PSAC West-leading Gannon with a 9-2 conference record. The win was also the 18th straight for IUP over Slippery Rock, a streak dating back to the 2006-07 season.
 
The Crimson Hawks were led by a slew of top performances, getting a team-high 22 points from senior guard Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana). Sophomore guard Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) set a new career-high with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, also grabbing nine rebounds in 37 minutes.
 
Senior forward Zhané Brooks tallied her fourth double-double in her last six games, scoring 11 points while grabbing 11 boards. Not to be outdone, senior point guard Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) scored 16 points, drilling 4-of-8 three-pointers, and dished out a career-high eight assists.
 
Senior forward Alexis Aiken (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Allegheny) put together her best game of the season, scoring six points while grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds while also dishing out four assists in 26 minutes.
 
The Crimson Hawks got out to a hot start, outscoring Slippery Rock 21-6 in the opening quarter. The Rock (7-8, 4-6 PSAC) picked up their pace in the second quarter, but IUP still took a 38-21 lead into halftime.
 
Slippery Rock came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring IUP 26-15 to cut its deficit to six points entering the fourth quarter. The Rock was led by Ciara Patterson, who scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half.
 
IUP's lead diminished to four at several points during the fourth quarter, but a cutting layup by Stapleton with 5:48 to play jumpstarted an 8-2 Crimson Hawks run as they took a 10-point lead at 69-59 with 2:45 to play. Stapleton bookended the run, also hitting one of her two three-pointers on the day.
 
Wareham, Stapleton and Aiken then combined to go 10-of-10 from the foul line down the stretch as IUP salted away the win.
 
Two of the top three-point shooting teams in the PSAC combined for 19 treys on the afternoon, with Slippery Rock going 10-of-22 while IUP finished 9-of-20.
 
The Crimson Hawks went an efficient 24-of-30 from the foul line, with their 80 percent conversion rate the best in their last six games. Stapleton went 8-of-8, running her current streak to 19 consecutive made. Aiken finished 6-of-6 from the line while Wareham was 4-of-4.
 
Brooks, Aiken and Smith helped the Crimson Hawks outrebound Slippery Rock 41-to-31 on the afternoon, while IUP also outshot The Rock 44.4 percent to 37.1 percent.
 
The Crimson Hawks hit the road for their next game, heading to Pitt-Johnstown (6-10, 3-7) next Wednesday night.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.