EDINBORO, Pa. – Six Crimson Hawks scored in double-figures and the defense forced 19 turnovers as eight-ranked IUP women's basketball defeated Edinboro 88-60 and clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title Wednesday night at McComb Fieldhouse.
 
The Crimson Hawks were dominant from the opening tip on both ends of the floor as they improved to 23-2 overall and 18-2 in PSAC play.
 
Already with a first round bye, they clinched the program's seventh all-time regular season division title including the second straight and third in the last five years.
 
IUP swept the regular season series with the Fighting Scots (19-7, 14-6 PSAC), who are now locked into the division's third seed in next week's conference tournament. Both wins were blowouts as the Crimson Hawks won 97-73 at the Kovalchick Complex January 21.
 
Senior guard Lauren Wolosik led IUP in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, knocking down three 3-pointers and a pair of foul shots. She added eight rebounds and five assists.
 
Wolosik helped the Crimson Hawks get off to another fast start as they led 11-0 just over four minutes into the contest. The lead increased to 13 points minutes later on a layup by senior forward Brittany Robinson and IUP got to 20 points before the end of the first quarter with another Robinson bucket.
 
Robinson also reached double-figures with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
 
Edinboro cut into the IUP lead in the second quarter as the Crimson Hawks led by eight at 27-19 with under six minutes left before half.
 
Less than a minute later junior guard Natalie Myers knocked down a 3-pointer and the momentum quickly turned as IUP went on a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 42-21 lead into halftime.
 
The Crimson Hawks went 5-of-7 from the field with three 3-pointers and a pair of foul shots during their run, with sophomore guard Courtney Alexander drilling a pair of treys in the final two minutes.
 
The run continued into the third quarter as the Crimson Hawks exploded for 31 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers. Alexander, Wolosik and Myers each drilled a pair from deep while senior guard Carolyn Appleby added another during one of the biggest quarters of the year for IUP.
 
The Crimson Hawks finished with 12 3-pointers on the night, the most since sinking 14 at Slippery Rock on January 12. IUP made at least 10 treys in a game six times this year, including twice against Edinboro.
 
Alexander went 4-of-5 from deep and finished with a career-high 12 points. Wolosik and Myers each hit three while Appleby and senior guard Ana Hollen both knocked down one.
 
Edinboro outscored IUP in the fourth quarter but by then the Crimson Hawks had already built a 37-point lead.
 
Others reaching double-figures in scoring included Appleby and Myers with 13 points and junior forward Lexi Griggs with 10 points.
 
IUP forced Edinboro into 19 turnovers on the night and one of its worst shooting performances of the year at 31.1 percent.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game No. 8 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 12 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … They are also ranked No. 4 in the NCAA's Atlantic Region rankings while Edinboro entered the week at No. 6 … IUP head coach Tom McConnell tied Jan Kiger for the most wins in program history with 141 … He'll have a chance to break that record in just his sixth season Saturday night … IUP has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Edinboro dating back to the 2014-15 season and have won five straight at McComb Fieldhouse … IUP is 11-1 on the road with eight wins of at least 20 points … The Crimson Hawks clinched the PSAC West crown with their win and Cal U's 73-60 loss at Seton Hill … The top four seeds in the PSAC West are decided with IUP at No. 1, Cal at No. 2, Edinboro at No. 3 and Seton Hill at No. 4.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks wrap up their regular season and celebrate Senior Night against Seton Hill Saturday night. Senior recognition begins at 5:15 with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. The Griffins are coming off their upset win over Cal and are 17-10 overall and 11-9 in the PSAC. IUP won the first game of the season 72-57 in Greensburg on January 30.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.