INDIANA, Pa. – The historical run for IUP women's basketball continued Wednesday at the Kovalchick Complex as the fifth-ranked Crimson Hawks defeated Seton Hill 81-55 to break the program record with their 17th consecutive victory.
 
It passes the 20-year old record of 16 straight wins by the 1999-2000 team coached by Sandy Thomas.
 
IUP improved to 19-1 overall and stayed perfect in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with a 14-0 league record. The 19 wins in the first 20 games equals last year's 20-game start, which was the best in program history. IUP also became the first PSAC team to clinch a conference tournament berth.
 
The Crimson Hawks put together another all-around performance that featured lights out shooting from guards Natalie Myers and Courtney Alexander. The duo combined for 37 points and a 61.8 field goal percentage, including 11-of-16 from 3-point range.
 
Myers led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 8-of-14 from the field including a 6-of-10 performance from 3-point range. Alexander got her fourth start of the year and scored 15 points, going 5-of-6 from long range.
 
The game started much closer than the 26-point margin would indicate as the Griffins (12-7, 7-7 PSAC) held the lead for most of the first quarter. Myers started hot nailing three treys in the opening 10 minutes while Alexanders first triple of the night capped an 8-3 run that gave IUP a 20-15 lead late in the frame.
 
IUP stayed ahead the entire second quarter as the gap widened to double digits. Myers knocked down another three to jump start a 12-3 run as the Hawks took a 37-26 lead with a minute to go before half. Guard Justina Mascaro made buckets on back-to-back possessions and Myers hit her fifth 3-pointer to end the run.
 
The Crimson Hawks pulled away in the third, using a 19-4 run over a six-minute span to go up by 22 points. Alexander hit her stride during the run with three 3-pointers as six different players scored to help IUP take a 61-38 lead to the fourth. IUP put up another 20-point fourth quarter to cruise to the record-setting win.
 
IUP finished with 12 treys on the night, its second-highest output of the season (14). The Hawks limited Seton Hill, which leads the PSAC in 3-pointers made, to a 5-of-20 performance. SHU managed to shoot just 31.3 percent from the field as the Hawks blocked nine shots on the night.
 
Who stood out
This marked Myers' fourth 20-point performance of the season while the six 3-pointers tied the career-high she's hit twice this year. She entered the night as the nation's leader in 3-point percentage and increased that to 51.4 percent with tonight's performance.
 
Alexander added four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action. The five 3-pointers fell one short of the career-high of six that she's also hit twice the year. She now has six double-digit scoring games in her last seven outings.
 
Two more players joined Myers and Alexander in double-digits as forward Lexi Griggs added 13 points and Mascaro finished with 10. Griggs dished out a team-best six assists and had five rebounds.
 
Guard Rajah Fink came off the bench to stuff the stat sheet in 21 minutes with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Forward Alana Cardona had a career-high three blocks in just 13 minutes off the bench.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 5 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 7 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … IUP finally got over the hump with its 17-straight win – the Hawks posted 15-game win streaks each of the last two seasons … Head coach Tom McConnell has five of the six longest win streaks in program history … IUP has back-to-back 80-point performances for the first time since the first two games of the season (81, 96) … IUP also has two straight 21-assist games after averaging 21.7 assists over its first 18 games.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks hit the road for their next challenge as they head to Erie to face Mercyhurst (5-15, 5-9 PSAC) Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.