JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Senior guard Natalie Myers finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the sixth-ranked Crimson Hawks overcome a season-high in turnovers as they came away with a 58-53 road win over Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday night.
 
It was the 250th career victory for IUP head coach Tom McConnell, who has a 165-39 (.808) record in seven seasons with the Crimson Hawks in addition to 85 wins as the Saint Francis (Pa.) head men's coach (1992-99).
 
The victory was also the 15th straight for the Crimson Hawks as they improved to 17-1 overall and 12-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). This is the third straight year IUP has posted a 15-game win streak and is now one shy of tying the program record of 16 consecutive (1999-00).
 
The Crimson Hawks played short-handed as leading scorer Justina Mascaro (15.3 PPG) sat out with an illness. Point guard Maria Cerro was also dealing with illness as she played but did not start.
 
IUP shot 46 percent from the floor but turned the ball over a season-high 28 times to limit offensive production. The defense responded with a huge performance, holding the Mountain Cats (10-8, 5-7 PSAC) to 28 percent from the field and held a 44-to-32 rebounding advantage.
 
The Hawks scored 17 points off 16 forced turnovers while UPJ scored just 15 points of its 28 forced TOs.
 
IUP raced out to an early 12-0 lead in making six of its first seven shots from the field. The turnovers caught up with the Hawks, however, and the Mountain Cats held a 25-14 scoring advantage the rest of the half. IUP went into the break with a 26-25 lead.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Myers early in the third quarter helped the Hawks go on a 10-2 run to take a 36-27 lead. But again UPJ clawed back with a 12-4 run and IUP took a slim 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
After UPJ took a 41-40 lead early in the fourth, Lexi Griggs put the Crimson Hawks back on top with a 3-pointer as they never looked back in a quarter that featured eight total timeouts and 24 free throws. IUP finished 11-of-16 from the line in the final 10 minutes, including three made free throws in the final nine seconds by Courtney Alexander to ice the game.
 
Who stood out
The double-double by Myers was her second straight and team-leading sixth of the season. She shot 5-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and went 4-of-4 from the foul line. The 14 rebounds set a new career-high.
 
Griggs finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Maura D'Anna also nearly hit a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with four assists and two blocks.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 6 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 9 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … McConnell is already the program's record holder for wins (165) and win percentage (.808) … IUP improved to 5-1 this year in games decided by eight or fewer points.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to tie the program record for consecutive wins (16) this Saturday when they host Clarion at the Kovalchick Complex. 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.