ERIE, Pa. – With the help of a 17-0 run and a defense that forced 22 turnovers, IUP women's basketball rallied for a 62-57 road win over Gannon on Saturday afternoon.
 
Down 28-12 midway through the second quarter, the Crimson Hawks ran off 17 straight points over 7:27 to take a 29-28 lead at the beginning of the third quarter.
 
The run was ignited with back-to-back three-pointers from junior forward Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) and sophomore guard Carolyn Appleby (Greensburg, Pa. /Greensburg Central Catholic), while sophomore forward wrapped up the comeback with a pair of buckets at the start of the third quarter.
 
The IUP defense also played its part, forcing Gannon into six turnovers and seven missed field goal attempts during that time span.  
 
The Crimson Hawks improved to 14-5 overall with the win, and are now all alone in third place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with a 12-3 league record. They're two games out of first place.
 
Appleby led the way with a game-high 17 points, going 7-of-13 from the field, with three assists and no turnovers in just a shade under 40 minutes of play. Also reaching double-figures in scoring were redshirt sophomore guard Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Catholic) and Smith, who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Crimson Hawks won the turnover battle, giving the ball back to Gannon (5-16, 5-10 PSAC) just eight times. It's the third straight game they've turned the ball over less than 10 times, owning a turnover margin of plus-22 over the course of the last week.
 
Up next
This game was the end of three-game road trip, as the Crimson Hawks return home on Wednesday to fend off revenge-minded Mercyhurst (16-4, 11-3). Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.