ERIE, Pa. – Senior forward Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) scored 31 points to lead the 12th-ranked IUP women's basketball team to a dominant 71-38 win over Gannon on the Hammermill Center's Gary Miller Court Monday night.
 
The Crimson Hawks limited Gannon to a 23.5 field goal percentage while forcing 17 turnovers to improve to 21-2 overall and 16-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). They returned to their first place tie with Edinboro in the strong PSAC Western Division with those 16 league wins.
 
The 38 points allowed by the Crimson Hawks is tied for the second lowest scoring output by an opponent (37) this year. IUP also gave up 38 points to Mercyhurst on Jan. 6 and 37 to Bowie State on Nov. 20.
 
The 23.5 field goal percentage by Gannon (13-12, 10-9 PSAC) is the lowest by a divisional opponent against the Crimson Hawks this year.
 
Smith put together the finest shooting performance of her career, connecting on 12-of-17 (.706) of her field goal attempts, including 6-of-8 (.750) from 3-point range. It's the second time this year she's made 12 field goals in a game and the third time she's drained six 3-pointers.
 
The 31 points is the second highest total for Smith (34) this season.
 
The matchup was close in the first half, with the Crimson Hawks taking a 31-25 lead into the locker room.
 
IUP started to pull away in the third quarter, forcing Gannon into seven turnovers and a 1-of-9 shooting performance, outscoring the Lady Knights 18-6 in the third 10 minutes. Gannon's Maggie Mitchell actually opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut IUP's lead to 31-28 before the Crimson Hawks reeled off a 14-0 run over 4:26.
 
The lead continued to grow in the fourth quarter, as the IUP defense allowed just one Gannon field goal over the game's final six minutes in the blowout victory.
 
The Crimson Hawks' dominance over Gannon
This is the third straight season that IUP has swept the regular season series with Gannon. The Crimson Hawks outscored the Lady Knights by an average of 24 points in the teams' two meetings this year, with Gannon shooting just 29.0 percent from the field with 32 turnovers.
 
Up next
Riding a four-game win streak, the Crimson Hawks head to Clarion to face the Golden Eagles (7-17, 2-16 PSAC) Wednesday night. IUP plays host to No. 20 California (20-4, 15-3 PSAC) Saturday 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.