CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The 19-game win streak for the fourth-ranked IUP women's basketball team came to an end Wednesday night as the Crimson Hawks lost to rival Cal U 57-52 at the Convocation Center.
This was IUP's first loss in 90 days since falling to then-No. 22 Glenville State 86-79 back on November 15. In the three months since, the Crimson Hawks set a new program record with 19 straight victories.
With the loss they fall to 21-2 overall and 16-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The 16 straight wins to open conference play is also a program record.
The Crimson Hawks defense forced Cal U into a paltry 28.8 field goal percentage (17-of-59) and owned a 45-31 rebounding advantage but their 21 turnovers were too much to overcome.
Eight of those turnovers came in the low-scoring first quarter. Both teams combined for five made field goals and the Vulcans (17-6, 11-6 PSAC) led 10-6 after 10 minutes.
The scoring picked up as IUP junior guard
Justina Mascaro ripped off seven second quarter points to help give the Hawks a 23-22 lead with two minutes left before halftime. After falling behind by eight points early in the quarter, Mascaro jumpstarted a 15-6 IUP run with a 3-pointer.
That led to a trey by
Courtney Alexander and Mascaro later hit a layup to give the Crimson Hawks a 1-point lead before going into halftime trailing 28-25.
Cal U led for most of the third quarter before Mascaro hit a pair of free throws to put IUP on top 36-35 with 3:55 to play. Another layup by Mascaro tied the game at 40-40 minutes later.
Down by six in the fourth, Alexander and
Natalie Myers buried 3-pointers to tie things up at 50-50 with five minutes to play.
From there the IUP hot hands went cold as the Hawks missed seven field goal attempts and two foul shots down the stretch. Cal U's DJ Hahn hit back-to-back buckets to give the Vulcans a 55-50 lead with 2:44 to play and Bianca Jasper added two foul shots for insurance in the closing seconds.
The Vulcans took advantage of their trips to the foul line, making 14-of-17 freebies compared to 7-of-9 for the Crimson Hawks.
Who stood out
Mascaro led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers while going 4-of-4 from the foul line. She added a pair of assists and two steals in 33 minutes while playing in foul trouble.
This was Mascaro's team-leading seventh 20-point outing of the season.
Forwards
Lexi Griggs and
Maura D'Anna each grabbed 10 rebounds to help IUP's +14 rebounding margin.
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 4 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … This was IUP's eighth straight loss on the road to Cal U – including playoffs – dating back to the 2013-14 season … It was the Hawks first road loss of the year, falling to 10-1 away from home … IUP holds a two-game lead over Gannon in the divisional standings with five games left to play.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to rebound Saturday at home against second place Gannon (19-5, 15-3 PSAC). IUP is looking for the regular season sweep after defeating Gannon 62-48 in Erie Jan. 11. Tipoff Saturday is 5:30 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
