SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Junior guard Justina Mascaro scored a career-high 23 points and senior guard Natalie Myers posted her second straight double-double as 11th-ranked IUP women's basketball defeated Shepherd 91-76 Friday night in West Virginia.
 
Mascaro shot 9-of-12 from the field, made three 3-pointers, and was perfect from the foul line to lead the team with her 23 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, blocked three shots, swiped three steals and had two assists in 35 minutes.
 
The win was the seventh straight for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.
 
How it happened
Mascaro helped IUP get out to a double-digit lead after the first 10 minutes of play as she scored 12 of the team's 23 points. She went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers.
 
She hit another trey to start the second quarter as the Crimson Hawks exploded for five 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the frame to push their lead to 40-20. Myers had back-to-back treys in the second and three total in the half as she took 11 points into the break.
 
Freshman guard Maria Cerro gave the Crimson Hawks one more 3-pointer before half as they took a 47-29 lead into the locker room.
 
IUP led by 24 points going into the fourth quarter, where the Rams (8-2, 2-2 PSAC) began to battle back. Shepherd opened the quarter with an 8-0 run and cut its deficit to 10 points with two minutes to play. But the Crimson Hawks limited Shepherd to just two more field goals the rest of the way and went 5-of-6 from the foul line to clinch the win.
 
Who stood out
In addition to Mascaro's career-high, Myers posted her fourth double-double of the year – and third in the last four games – with 21 points and 11 rebounds. It was her third 20-point game of the season. Myers shot 7-of-14 including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Senior forward Lexi Griggs returned to the lineup after missing two games and tied a season-high with 18 points. She shot 7-of-11 from the field and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Redshirt junior forward Maura D'Anna scored 13 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks and fouled out after 20 minutes.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 11 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 22 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … IUP has been ranked in each of the last 41 poll releases dating back to the end of the 2016-17 season … The Crimson Hawks have won four straight road games and have not played at home since November 24 … Shepherd entered the weekend leading Division II with a 43.2 3-point field goal percentage but IUP limited the Rams to just 6-of-23 from long range … IUP had its best shooting performance of the season making 57.1 percent from the field (32of-56) … The 11 3-pointers by the Crimson Hawks were their most since hitting 14 in the season-opener.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks have another tough road test at Shippensburg (6-4, 3-1) Saturday night. The Raiders are coming off a 78-71 home win over Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.