INDIANA, Pa. – Junior guard Natalie Myers scored a career-high 17 points and the IUP defense limited Slippery Rock to a horrible shooting performance as the fourth-ranked Crimson Hawks picked up a dominant 88-51 victory Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The win clinched a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) postseason berth, IUP's 14th straight dating back to the 2005-06 season.
 
The Crimson Hawks improved to 19-1 and 14-1 in conference play, increasing their lead in the division over California (18-2, 12-2 PSAC).
 
IUP shot better than 54 percent from the field, made seven 3-pointers, and hit 15 from the free throw line. The defense stifled Slippery Rock (9-12, 7-8 PSAC) all night, as the Crimson Hawks forced 18 turnovers, blocked 10 shots, and limited SRU to 22.5 percent shooting.
 
Myers keyed IUP's hot start, draining three 3-pointers in the game's first 2:22 of play to give the Crimson Hawks a quick 11-0 lead. She wasn't the only one sinking buckets in the first quarter as IUP made nine of its first 10 shots on the night to take a 24-8 lead with three minutes still left to play.
 
The lead increased to more than 20 at 37-16 less than three minutes into the second quarter on a transition bucket by senior forward Brittany Robinson.
 
Robinson excelled in all phases Wednesday night as she finished with eight points, seven rebounds, a season-high six blocks, four assists and a steal in 25 minutes.
 
Her bucket was part of a 14-0 run by the Crimson Hawks that increased their lead to 46-16 at the midway point of the second quarter. They kept that momentum and took a 30-point lead into halftime.
 
Another 3-pointer by Myers opened up the third quarter scoring and helped IUP gets its lead to 34 points ant 60-26 early in the frame. Slippery Rock did respond with a 9-2 run but the Crimson Hawks didn't slow down and went up by as many as 41 points in the final quarter to come away with the runaway win.
 
All 12 players who saw the court for the Crimson Hawks also contributed to the scoring column. Joining Myers in double-figures were senior guards Lauren Wolosik and Carolyn Appleby with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
 
Wolosik shot 7-of-12 from the floor, dished out eight assists and had four steals in 29 minutes. Appleby shot 5-of-8 with six rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes.
 
Myers was perfect on the night, going 6-of-6 from the floor including a career-high five 3-pointers, and didn't turn the ball over in 21 minutes.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game No. 4 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … Coach Tom McConnell improved his IUP record to 137-35 (.797) and is just five victories shy of becoming the program's all-time winningest coach … IUP improved to 11-1 in home games and won its fourth straight game overall … 10 of the Crimson Hawks' 11 home wins have come by more than 20 points … This was IUP's 16th win of the year by more than 20 points … The 22.5 shooting percentage by The Rock is the lowest by an IUP opponent this season … IUP swept the season series with Slippery Rock, outscoring SRU by an average of 36.5 points per game … The Crimson Hawks totaled 25 blocks in their two games with SRU … Myers averaged 16.5 points and made nine 3-pointers in those two games.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks hit the road for the next two games starting with a trip to Erie to battle Gannon Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is 1 p.m. The Lady Knights are 11-12 overall and tied for fifth in the PSAC West with a 7-8 league record after falling to Seton Hill 83-69 at home Wednesday.
 
Follow
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