INDIANA, Pa. – Behind 23 points from junior guard Justina Mascaro, the fourth-ranked IUP women's basketball team bounced back from a rough loss to score a 59-54 victory over visiting Gannon at the Kovalchick Complex Saturday night.
 
Trailing at the end of the first and second quarters, the Crimson Hawks made a big push over the final 10 minutes, using a late 8-0 run to secure the regular season sweep of Gannon.
 
The win gave the Crimson Hawks a cushion in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division standings heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. IUP improved to 22-2 overall and 17-1 in the league while second place Gannon dropped to 19-6 and 15-4.
 
One more IUP win or one more Gannon loss will secure a third straight PSAC West regular season title for the Crimson Hawks.
 
IUP rushed out to an early 8-2 lead but soon went cold as the Lady Knights went on a 10-2 run and eventually took a 16-12 lead after the first quarter.
 
The low-scoring contest continued into the second quarter with just 20 combined points between the two teams. Both squads also combined for 12 turnovers in the frame, with 10 of those coming in the final five minutes before the half.
 
Gannon led by as many as five points twice in the quarter but the Hawks seemed to grab some momentum right before the break on a 3-pointer by Mascaro. She had 13 points at the break, including seven in the second quarter.
 
Mascaro came out of the locker room and knocked down another 3-pointer at the start of the third, but other Hawks started to get involved as the quarter went on. Lexi Griggs gave IUP a 32-30 lead at the midway point and Natalie Myers later answered a Gannon 3-pointer with one of her own.
 
Down by one heading to the fourth, IUP took advantage of Gannon fouls with Griggs and Mikayla Lovelace each converting from the foul line to take a 41-38 lead. The teams traded shots over the next few minutes, but after Gannon went up 46-45 with 5:38 to go, the Hawks responded with eight straight points to take a 53-46 lead with under two minutes to play.
 
Rajah Fink, who scored eight points in the second half, took control with back-to-back buckets in the paint while Mascaro converted a layup-and-one with 1:40 to play. Timeouts and a lot of strategy came into play down the stretch, but IUP iced the game with perfect trips to the foul line by Mascaro, Myers and Courtney Alexander.
 
The Crimson Hawks outscored Gannon 22-16 in the pivotal fourth quarter and converted 12-of-15 from the foul line in the second half. IUP also won the turnover battle, scoring 18 points off Gannon's 16 turnovers.
 
Who stood out
Mascaro finished 8-of-14 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and went 5-of-6 from the foul line. Playing the full 40 minutes, she also made big plays on the defensive end with four steals and a block.
 
It was her second straight 20-point game and team-leading eighth of the season.
 
Also playing all 40 minutes, Griggs went for 10 points and seven rebounds and had four steals and a block. Fink came off the bench to score 10 points with five boards in 25 minutes.
 
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 … IUP improved to 8-0 in games following regular season losses in the last three seasons … The Hawks improved to 12-1 at home … IUP has held opponents under 60 points in seven straight games and in 11 of the last 13.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to clinch the division title and hosting rights in the upcoming PSAC tournament Wednesday with a home matchup against Edinboro (14-8, 12-6 PSAC). Tipoff is 5:30 p.m.

Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.