INDIANA, Pa. – Junior guard Carolyn Appleby (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) scored a game-high 26 points as the ninth-ranked Crimson Hawks defeated 11th-ranked Edinboro 67-53 to clinch a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title Wednesday night.
 
The Crimson Hawks celebrated their Senior Night with a win that locked up a first round bye and home court advantage throughout next week's PSAC tournament. The game was streamed live on WatchESPN as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase.
 
IUP improves to 24-2 overall and 19-2 in the PSAC with the victory. The win ties the 2014-15 IUP squad for the best 26-game stretch in program history.
 
Seniors Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry), Halle Denman (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and Audrey Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) were all honored prior to tipoff. Smith finished with 18 points and six rebounds, Denman had seven assists and four steals, and Stapleton added seven points in 17 minutes off the bench.
 
IUP and Edinboro (22-3, 18-3 PSAC) entered the night tied for first place in the division. The game was tight throughout, with the Crimson Hawks leading by four (16-12) after the first quarter and by five (33-28) at halftime.
 
The Fighting Scots used an 11-2 run between the second and third quarters to take a 34-33 shortly after the start of the second half. The teams traded buckets – and leads – for the rest of the quarter, with Edinboro taking a four point lead at 44-40 on a Ciara Rosten jumper with 1:15 left.
 
The Crimson Hawks ended the quarter on a run of their own, scoring seven straight points highlighted by a 3-pointer by Appleby at the buzzer to take a 47-44 lead to the fourth.
 
Edinboro tied things up at 47-47 less than three minutes later, but the Crimson Hawks rallied with a huge run down the stretch. A jumper in the lane by Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) began a 20-4 run that lasted the next six minutes as IUP built a 67-51 lead with less than a minute to play in the game. Buckets came from Denman, Smith, Appleby and Maura D'Anna (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) as the Crimson Hawks made eight straight shots.
 
IUP overcame a rough night at the foul line (9-of-18) to shoot 50 percent in the second half. The Crimson Hawks forced Edinboro into 18 turnovers and a 0-of-10 performance from 3-point range. Rosten led the Fighting Scots with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
 
IUP in the PSAC tournament
The Crimson Hawks will be making the program's 20th all-time PSAC tournament appearance and their sixth as regular season division champs. They'll host a quarterfinal game Wednesday, Feb. 28 and with a win, will host the semifinals and championship of the PSAC tournament March 3-4.
 
NCAA Atlantic Region rankings
Earlier in the day, the NCAA released its Division II regional rankings, which determine the 64-team tournament field. The Crimson Hawks landed at No. 2 in the Atlantic Region, the same spot they were in last week's debut rankings.  
 
Up next
IUP wraps up its regular season Saturday afternoon at Seton Hill (19-8, 14-7 PSAC). Tipoff is 1 p.m. in Greensburg.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.