ERIE, Pa. – The IUP defense forced seven turnovers and outscored Gannon 19-6 in the fourth quarter as the fourth-ranked Crimson Hawks picked up a 66-52 win over the Lady Knights at Erie's Hammermill Center Saturday afternoon.
The Crimson Hawks scored 13 points off those seven fourth quarter turnovers, transforming a tight 47-46 ballgame in double-digit lead with less than five minutes to play.
With IUP on top 53-50, the defense turned it up and held Gannon scoreless for 5:22. That helped the Crimson Hawks go on a 9-0 run and take comfortable 62-50 lead with 2:40 left to play. They made good on their free throws and didn't allow another Gannon field goal the rest of the way en route to their 20th win of the year.
The Crimson Hawks lead the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) at 20-1 overall and 15-1 in league play.
IUP had its best performance of the year from the free throw line, making 20-of-22 for the game including 12-of-14 in the fourth quarter.
Senior guard
Carolyn Appleby scored a game-high 23 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Redshirt senior guard
Lauren Wolosik added 19 points and a pair of steals. Each went 9-of-9 from the foul line.
The first five minutes of the afternoon mirrored the last five minutes for the Crimson Hawks, as they got out to a quick 13-2 lead. Junior guard
Natalie Myers opened up with a 3-pointer and Wolosik scored six points during the early start.
Gannon (11-13, 7-9 PSAC) fought back and scored 11 of the next 13 points and trailed 15-13 after the first frame.
The Crimson Hawks again pushed their lead to double-figures in the second quarter but an 8-0 run by the Lady Knights cut their deficit and IUP took a narrow 34-31 lead into halftime.
Gannon grabbed the momentum in the third, taking advantage of cold shooting from the Crimson Hawks to go on a 9-2 run and go on top 42-41. The Lady Knights later held a 46-43 lead but IUP got buckets from Appleby and senior forward
Brittany Robinson to take its one-point lead into the fourth.
Robinson scored all 10 of her points in the second half, going 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line. She also had two of her four steals in the pivotal fourth quarter.
The IUP defense allowed just one Gannon player to score in double-figures with Sydney Mitchell posting 14 points. Nicole LaCava, who entered the weekend with a 13.9 scoring average and 64.7 field goal percentage, finished the day 1-of-4 and six points.
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 138-35 (.798) and is just four victories shy of becoming the program's all-time winningest coach … The win was IUP's fifth straight … The Crimson Hawks improved to 9-0 on the road, including 5-0 against PSAC West opponents … IUP has held opponents under 60 points each of the last five games … The 20 free throws made and 90.9 percentage are the best numbers of the season for IUP … The Crimson Hawks swept the season series with Gannon for the third straight year … Appleby had her eighth 20-point game of the season.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back in action next week with another road game, traveling to Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday night. The Mountain Cats have won back-to-back games to improve to 12-11 overall and are fifth in the PSAC West standings with an 8-8 league record. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
