INDIANA, Pa. – The ninth-ranked IUP women's basketball team left in all on the floor with their most exhausting, but well-earned victory of the year, defeating Edinboro 80-72 in double overtime Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The win gave the Crimson Hawks at least a share of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title for the third straight season. But more importantly, it secured the division's No. 1 seed and home court advantage in the upcoming PSAC tournament.
 
As the No. 1 seed in the West, IUP receives a first round bye and will host a quarterfinal game Wednesday, March 4. If the Crimson Hawks win, they'll host the PSAC semifinals and championship at the Kovalchick Complex the weekend of March 7-8.
 
The Hawks improved to 23-2 overall and 18-1 in conference play, 2.5 games better than second place Gannon (20-6, 16-4) with three games left to play. IUP can take the outright divisional title with one more win.
 
It was Edinboro (14-9, 12-7) that grabbed the early momentum, taking a 9-0 lead forcing an IUP timeout just over three minutes into the game. The Hawks bounced right back with a 14-2 run, taking an 11-10 lead on a layup by Justina Mascaro, before going on top 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The IUP defense dominated the second quarter, forcing Edinboro into 2-of-15 shooting while giving up just eight points. The Crimson Hawks had nine blocks at halftime and lead 29-20 going into the locker room.
 
The Fighting Scots owned the second half, forcing the Hawks into nine turnovers as they cut their deficit to six heading into the fourth quarter. IUP seemed to pull away with a 3-pointer by Courtney Alexander followed by a bucket by Mascaro to take a 50-41 lead with 7:23 to play.
 
However, EU's Michaela Barnes led a vicious comeback which included an 11-4 run over the final 3:20 to take the game to overtime. With IUP on top 58-56 with 11 seconds to play, Boro's Cheniya Sharpe forced a jump ball possession back to the Fighting Scots, where Bridgette Shaffer connected on the game-tying layup with 4.1 seconds to play.
 
The teams traded barbs in the first OT, with IUP again leading by two points in the closing seconds before Barnes hit an off-balance layup with under six seconds to play to send the game to its second extra period.
 
Barnes scored 31 points in the second half and overtime as she finished with 42 on the night.
 
Now it was IUP's turn to take over, as Mascaro opened the period with a layup before Natalie Myers hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the hawks a 74-68 lead with 3:15 left.
 
Maura D'Anna hit a pair of clutch free throws with 41 seconds left to make it an 8-point game and Mascaro added one more bucket to ice the game with 15 second to go.
 
Several Crimson Hawks' battled through foul trouble, including Mascaro who finished with four personals. Rajah Fink fouled out with five minutes left in regulation while D'Anna and Griggs each had three fouls.
 
IUP outshot Edinboro by a wide margin, limiting the Fighting Scots to just 30.8 percent (24-of-78) from the field. But EU made things up at the foul line, going 16-of-20 while IUP converted just 6-of-10.
 
IUP finished with a season-high 12 blocks and forced 18 turnovers.
 
Who stood out
Mascaro posted her third straight 20-point game with a team-best 23 points. She went 10-of-16 from the field with a 3-pointer and made a pair at the foul line. She added seven rebounds, four assists and a block in 43 of the game's 50 minutes.
 
Alexander tied her career-high with 20 points for the third time this season. She hit four 3-pointers, blocked four shots and had two steals in 48 minutes.
 
Fink had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 21 minutes off the bench. D'Anna, Griggs and Myers each scored eight points.
 
NCAA regional rankings
Earlier in the day, the NCAA released its first set of Division II regional rankings with the Crimson Hawks taking the top spot in the Atlantic. Following IUP is Glenville State at No. 2, Notre Dame (Ohio) at No. 3, Virginia Union at No. 4, and Gannon at No. 5.
 
These rankings determine Division II tournament field of 64, with the top eight teams in each of the eight regions earning a postseason spot. The Crimson Hawks are looking for the program's 14th all-time NCAA tournament bid, including its sixth straight.
 
The NCAA Division II tournament will be announced Sunday night, March 8.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 9 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 9 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … This was IUP's first overtime game since falling to Millersville 89-86 in the 2018 PSAC semifinals at the Kovalchick Complex … The Hawks now have four PSAC West titles in the last six seasons under head coach Tom McConnell … This was IUP's third straight regular season sweep of Edinboro as McConnell improved to 12-4 all-time against the Fighting Scots.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to cement the name at the top spot of the division Saturday as they travel to Greensburg to face Seton Hill (13-12, 7-12). The Griffins are in a battle with Mercyhurst for the final playoff spot in the West. Tipoff is 1 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.