INDIANA, Pa. – Junior guard/forward
Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in leading the IUP women's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over Clarion on Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Kovalchick Complex.
With the win, the Crimson Hawks secure a first-round bye into next week's PSAC tournament quarterfinals and improve to 20-5 overall and 18-3 in league play. The win gives IUP its third consecutive 20-win season under head coach
Tom McConnell and the 10th overall 20-win season since 1998-99. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles fall to 14-13 behind an 11-10 league mark.
Smith was 8-of-14 from the floor while adding one assist and one block. Sophomore
Brittany Robinson (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin East) scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three blocks and three assists. Redshirt sophomore
Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Catholic) added 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals and one assist.
Robinson tied the game at 4-4 early in the first quarter. Clarion answered by taking a 9-6 lead after a pair of free-throws from Jen Straw at the 7:24-mark. That was the beginning to a 12-6 Golden Eagle run that pushed the Clarion lead to 20-12 with just under four-minutes left in the first quarter. The Crimson Hawks countered with a 10-2 run from the close of the first quarter to the 7:38-mark of the second quarter that tied the game at 22-22 after Robinson converted a three-point play. IUP took a 35-24 halftime lead after the Crimson Hawks finished the half on a 13-2 run. During the run IUP shot 5-of-10 from the floor while limiting Clarion to just 1-of-7 shooting.
A layup from sophomore
Carolyn Appleby (Greensburg, Pa. /Greensburg Central Catholic) pushed the lead to 15 (39-24) in the first minute of the third quarter. The Golden Eagles then cut the lead to just 41-36 after a three pointer from Jordan Bekelja at the 4:30-mark. After IUP went up seven (50-43), Clarion was once again able to cut the lead as the Golden Eagles pulled to within 50-47 on a layup from Straw with 8:15 to play in the fourth quarter. An 11-0 Crimson Hawks run extended the lead to 61-47 midway through the fourth quarter. Clarion cut the lead to six, before IUP earned the win.
IUP shot at a 42.4 percent (25-of-59) clip. In comparison, Clarion shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor. The Golden Eagles held a slim 37-35 rebounding margin.
Delrika Jones-Carey led Clarion with a team-high 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Up Next
The Crimson Hawks conclude the regular season with a trip to third-ranked California (Pa.) on Saturday, February 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. The winner of Saturday's game will win the PSAC West championship and earn the division's top-seed in the upcoming PSAC tournament.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
