UPDATE: With IUP's win and Gannon's loss to California (Pa.) on Wednesday, the Crimson Hawks have clinched the second seed in the PSAC tournament. IUP will receive a first round bye and will host a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m.

INDIANA, Pa. – Behind a career night from senior point guard Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic), IUP turned a close game into a blow out on Senior Night, defeating Pitt-Johnstown, 79-52, Wednesday night.

Prior to tipoff, IUP recognized the team's five starters in a pregame ceremony. Wareham joined with her fellow seniors Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana), Zhané Brooks, Alexis Aiken (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Allegheny) and Amy Graham (Zanesville, Ohio/West Muskingum) in the starting lineup.

Wareham started the night off strong, scoring eight of IUP's first 10 points and 13 of IUP's 23 first-quarter points. She finished with a career-high 28 points on 10-for-11 shooting, including 8-for-9 on three-pointers, and added four rebounds and three assists.

The eight three-pointers set an IUP single-game record, as the previous record of seven was accomplished by Lacey Claar, Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) and, most recently, Lindsay Stamp (Erie, Pa. /Mercyhurst Prep) in 2013. Wareham's previous high of six threes was accomplished Feb. 6, when she scored her previous high of 24 points, handed out six assists and grabbed four rebounds.

Brooks completed her eighth double-double of the year, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She has back-to-back games of more than 20 points for the second time this season.

Wareham and Brooks combined to score IUP's first 23 points, with Wareham going for 13 and Brooks 10.

IUP went into the locker room up, 36-26, with all the points being scored by the senior starters, with Wareham hitting for 16, Brooks for 14 and Stapleton and Alexis chipping in with four and two points, respectively. It wasn't until sophomore Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) connected on a 3-pointer five minutes into the third quarter that an underclassman scored for the Crimson Hawks.

After being outscored by the Lady Cats in the middle two quarters, IUP exploded for 23 points, while limiting UPJ to just eight, in the fourth quarter to seal the 79-52 win.

Stapleton added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Smith put together another all-around game of 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Aiken went a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line to finish with four points and three rebounds. Graham, in her first career start, added three rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes.

IUP moves to 19-6 on the year and 16-5 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division. The Crimson Hawks are currently a half game back of first-place California (Pa.) in the PSAC West.

The Crimson Hawks are back in action Wednesday at Seton Hill in the regular season finale. Tipoff is schedule for 5:30 p.m.

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