INDIANA, Pa. – Sophomore guard Ana Hollen (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood) tied a career-high with 23 points while junior Hallie Denman set a career-high with seven steals as the IUP women's basketball team recorded a 71-48 victory over Gannon in its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West opener at the Kovalchick Complex Friday evening.

With the win the Crimson Hawks improve to 8-2 and 6-0 in conference play while extending their winning streak to eight games. Meanwhile Gannon falls to 3-9 overall behind a 3-3 league mark.

Hollen connected on 7-of-12 shots (3-of-3 from beyond the arc) while adding four assists, four rebounds and one steal. Denman, who broke her previous career-high for steals earlier this season, added seven points, six rebounds, two assists and one block. Junior Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) totaled 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting to go along with four assists, two steals and one block. Redshirt-sophomore Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Catholic) added 12 points and three assists.

IUP jumped out to an 11-3 lead early as four different Crimson Hawks scored during the early first quarter run. Gannon then cut the lead to 18-12 at the 1:20-mark on a layup from Chelsea Rourke before the Crimson Hawks took a 21-14 lead after one quarter. IUP was able to push the lead to 30-20 midway through the second quarter on a layup from Kendall Hunter (Burke, Va. /Paul VI Catholic). A pair of free-throws from Hollen extended the Crimson Hawks lead to 34-23 at the 2:15-mark of the second quarter.

The Lady Knights opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run to cut the Crimson Hawks lead to 36-29 at the 7:53-mark. IUP then responded with a 12-5 run over a 5:24 stretch to take a 48-32 lead on a pair of free-throws from Hollen. The Crimson Hawks answered by closing the quarter on an 8-2 run to push the lead to 55-34. Hollen then tied her career-high with a 3-pointer at the 7:02 mark of the fourth quarter which gave IUP a 61-38 lead. From there the Crimson Hawks maintained at least a 21-point lead on the way to the victory.

IUP shot at a 45.0 percent (27-of-60) clip, including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc. Gannon shot 40.0 percent (20-of-50) from the field and just 25.0 percent (2-of-8) from beyond the arc. The Lady Knights held a slim 35-31 rebounding edge while the Crimson Hawks scored 23 points off of 29 Gannon turnovers.

Gannon was led by a team-high 17 points from Lanise Sanders and nine points from Maggie Mitchell.

Up Next
The Crimson Hawks continue PSAC West play on Tuesday, January 3 when they host Pitt-Johnstown at 5:30 p.m.

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